Stop Treating Your Remote Work Setup Like a Situationship: Boundaries That Actually Work
By Nina — I'm the friend who tells you what you need to hear about your situationship. ·
Look, I love my apartment in Bushwick. I love the natural light, the proximity to my favorite coffee shop, and the fact that I don’t have to put on real pants to draft a press release. But let’s be real: working from home can turn into a toxic situationship real fast if you aren’t careful.
When you’re always "available," you’re basically that person who texts back at 3 AM because they’re bored and lonely. You’re giving your employer the best parts of your day without demanding a commitment to your own mental peace. It’s messy, it’s draining, and frankly, you deserve better. It’s July 2026, we’ve been doing this long enough to know better than to let our Slack notifications run our lives. Here is how you stop being the ‘casual hookup’ to your corporate job and start setting some real boundaries.
Stop Answering at 7 PM Like It’s a ‘U Up?’ Text
The biggest mistake I see people make is the ‘always-on’ trap. You think you’re being a rockstar by responding to emails while you’re trying to eat dinner or watching your current favorite show. Guess what? You’re not a rockstar; you’re just teaching your boss that your free time is actually company property.
If you don’t set a firm ‘hard stop,’ nobody else will. I treat 6:00 PM like a non-negotiable date. If a message comes in after that, it sits there until tomorrow. If it’s truly an international crisis—which, let’s be honest, in PR or tech, it rarely is—they’ll have your number. Stop romanticizing the grind. Your laptop is not your boyfriend, and it’s definitely not worth your serotonin.
Your Workspace Shouldn’t Feel Like a Crime Scene
I’ve been to friends' apartments where they work from the edge of their bed, surrounded by half-empty water glasses and laundry piles. Do you want to know why you feel anxious all the time? Because your brain doesn’t know if it’s supposed to be resting or reporting.
If you have a desk, use it. If you don’t, find a ‘work spot’ that is strictly for labor. When you leave that chair, the workday is over. Physically walking away from your ‘work zone’ is the best way to signal to your brain that it’s time to switch from ‘employee mode’ to ‘human being mode.’ Don’t check your emails from your bed. Ever. That’s a sacred space, not an extension of the office.
Stop ‘Breadcrumbing’ Your Own Productivity
We all have those days where we feel like we’re working, but we’re actually just moving tabs around and checking social media every seven minutes. That’s called ‘breadcrumbing’ your productivity—doing just enough to not get fired, but wasting your actual energy on busy work.
If you want the freedom of remote work, you have to earn it by being radically efficient. Try the 50/10 rule. Work for 50 minutes with absolutely no distractions—no TikTok, no refreshing your group chat, no staring out the window at the neighbor’s dog. Then, take a real 10-minute break. Get up, walk around, make a tea. When you give yourself permission to truly disconnect for ten minutes, you’ll find you don’t need to spend half the day ‘half-working.’
Communication Isn’t a Personality Trait
Just because you’re remote doesn’t mean you need to over-communicate to prove you’re ‘busy.’ Stop the performative Slack status updates. If you’re getting your work done, you don’t need to apologize for being ‘away’ for thirty minutes to go for a walk.
People who are secure in their output don’t feel the need to constantly telegraph their every movement to their team. If you’re performing anxiety, your team will treat you like you’re anxious. Be clear, be concise, and then disappear into your real life. Trust me, the work will still be there when you get back.
Build a ‘Third Place’ That Has Nothing to Do With Wi-Fi
Remote work is isolating, even if you’re an introvert. If your only interaction with the world is through a screen, you’re going to start projecting all your needs onto your keyboard. You need a ‘third place’—a spot that isn't your home and isn't your office.
For me, it’s the climbing gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For you, it might be a pottery class or just a park bench where you read a physical book (no Kindle, no phone). You need to be unreachable, even if just for an hour. It reminds you that you are a person with a pulse, not just a resource for an agency or a corporation.
Remember, you are the prize. Your skills are what make your company money, but your time is the only thing you’ll never get back. Stop giving it away for free to people who wouldn't notice if you burned out tomorrow. Take your space back, set the boundary, and actually enjoy your life.
If you find yourself struggling to pull the plug or you’re stuck in a loop of ‘just one more email,’ hit me up. I’m always here to give you that reality check you’re clearly looking for. Let’s talk about how to get your time back. You know where to find me.