‍What is your role at Auror?‍

I am an Implementation Specialist with the Customer Success Department here at Auror. This is a new role for Auror, which I am so excited about because I am very passionate about building out processes and bringing teams together to ‘connect the dots’. You may ask, what is an Implementation Specialist? Well, essentially I come in after the contract has been executed to ensure everything that was discussed prior is executed throughout their onboarding period.

What do you enjoy about your role?

My favourite part about my role is working with so many team members across multiple departments both internally and externally. I’m always learning something new and thinking of creative and innovative ways to make the implementation process more efficient for our team and the customer.

How do you set boundaries in your personal and/or professional life?

Before Auror, I didn't understand what work-life balance was. Sure, I'd heard people talk about it, but implementing it in my own life was another story.

I used to work on average 60 hours a week, including Sundays and evenings. My dogs, June and Acesa, would come poke me with their noses when it was time to go on a walk, prying me away from my desk. I hadn't taken a vacation in years and I would wake up in the middle of the night in a panic, worried about work. Or, I would be brainstorming new implementation processes in the shower. I had no safe space.

I had wanted to go to Idaho for years, but never felt I could comfortably take the time off from work without being overwhelmed even more so when I would return. I packed up my car with my camping gear and girls (dogs) and off we went. For me, the best way to ‘reset’ is to go camping and just be out on an adventure alone with my dogs and this is exactly what we did. We rolled into Idaho at night, so I didn’t know if I could even see the Sawtooth mountain range. I fell asleep giddy with excitement to see what view awaited me in the morning.

As the sun rose in the morning, there they were, the Sawtooths. And just like that I felt an enormous weight lifted off my shoulders and I knew I needed a better balance in my life. I couldn’t keep living like this, I needed more of this and less of work/shower thoughts.

Through this journey of self-reflection I knew I needed to find a company that embodied the same values I held and not only spoke about them, but truly lived and breathed each one. I pride myself in being a hard worker, but escaping into the mountains or spending time in my garden just isn’t the same when thoughts about work never turn off.

Why Auror?

I knew I wanted to work at Auror when I learned more about the culture here.

Auror's goal is to create a workplace where you can bring your true, authentic self to work. There is an understanding that people have lives outside of work, and we want to be as present in our non-work lives as much as we're present at Auror.

One way Auror encourages this is through instilling best practices for asynchronous and synchronous communication. By having a culture of open communication built on trust and empowerment, this cuts down on unnecessary meetings and content-switching.

There is also a priority on our wellbeing, with wellness days that we can use to take time off when we're not feeling well, or if we need time to look after our mental health.

Auror is continually revamping and improving benefits with its people in mind. Because of everything Auror does to care for its people, my mental health has never been in a better place.

Do you have any advice for those who are currently on the journey of learning to set boundaries?

My advice to those on this beautiful and bumpy journey of setting boundaries is to treat it as you would a relationship. You need to take the time to love and appreciate yourself and know what you need before you can be ready to truly ‘set those boundaries’. Here are some tips I found helpful and am continually working on:

• It takes time. Be patient with yourself if you don’t get it right at your first try
• Try small changes at first. This is going to look different for everyone. Maybe for you this looks like actually eating lunch, maybe it’s walking your dogs during the daylight and not late at night or turning Slack off on your phone
• Run your errands and meal prep prior to the work week. This reduces unnecessary running around during the week so you can focus on other hobbies such as going to the gym, hanging with your loved ones or reading your new favourite book
• Setting reminders on your phone is also very helpful, especially if you work from home and no one is there to remind you. It’s very easy to get sucked into a spreadsheet or a project.
• Write daily goals for yourself with a specific time of when you’d like to accomplish them. I like starting with daily goals because looking at the entire week can be overwhelming but starting with just one day is a lot more attainable and helps you get boundaries around your time