# How I Define My Boundaries to Prevent Burnout

DevFeed: [How I Define My Boundaries to Prevent Burnout](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/how-i-define-my-boundaries-to-prevent-burnout-1363.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://shopify.engineering/define-boundaries-prevent-burnout>)

Author: Farhan Thawar

Published: 2021-05-06T15:15:54Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Shopify Engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/shopify-engineering.md>), [Shopify Engineering - Shopify Engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/shopify-engineering-shopify-engineering.md>)

Topics: [Software](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/software.md>), [coding](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/coding.md>)

Tags: [career](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/career.md>), [coding](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/coding.md>), [energy](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/energy.md>), [experimentation](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/experimentation.md>), [learning](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/learning.md>), [software](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software.md>), [startup](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/startup.md>), [work](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/work.md>)

## AI overview

A software leader describes developing sustainable boundaries for work, family, personal life, and learning after discovering that intense focus and 100-hour workweeks led toward mental and physical burnout. The article advocates defining available time, prioritizing work, and communicating expectations clearly.

## Source excerpt

There's a way to build a model for your life and the other demands on you. It doesn't have to be 100 hours a week. It might not even be 40 hours a week. Whatever sustainable model you come up with, prioritize fiercely and communicate expectations accordingly. I've worked this way for three decades through different phases of my life. The hours have changed, but the basic model and principles remain the same: Define the time, prioritize the work, and communicate those two effectively.