Setting Boundaries and Being True to Yourself with Georgia Day, Sheerluxe Columnist, Vogue Contributor, and Former Head of Content at Space NK

“Learn from our mistakes” is a series where I ask impressive women, “What would you do differently if you could start your working life again?”

“Setting Boundaries at Work" is something we often hear about, but rarely do we get a candid insight into what it truly means in practice. So it was great to speak to Georgia Day, Sheerluxe Columnist, Vogue Contributor, and former Head of Content at Space NK, who very openly shared her reflections on setting boundaries and staying true to herself in her career - a lesson she wishes she had embraced earlier.

I might need to change the title of this series to “women I’m in awe of”, as it’s about to get gushing again. Georgia Day is my inspiration on many levels. A fashion icon (I’ve loved everything about her look for the last decade), a seemingly flawless mother of three (plus I know there are many pets involved), and one of the most impressive writers and beauty consultants (her eloquence is unmatched) I’ve ever worked with. Georgia was instrumental in the Faace journey, and I’ve known of her for almost 20 years, dating back to when (I think) she was Beauty Editor at ELLE magazine. 

We became friends as colleagues at the iconic agency Beauty Seen more than 10 years ago. After editor roles and a stint as Head of Content at SpaceNK, Georgia now works as a consultant, writer and regular columnist at the UK’s most prestigious titles. When you hear the phrase, “I don’t know how she does it”, it really rings true with Georgia.

Funny story too – Georgia and I were pregnant at the same time (her third, my second), and although we spoke regularly (we were working on projects together), and sharing our experiences of pregnancy, we never discussed names. The week I gave birth to Rudy, I posted about his arrival on social media. Shortly after, I received a photo from Georgia of her new arrival… also named Rudy (hers Rudy Valentine and mine the slightly less glamorous, Rudy Graham, named after my Dad). Born the same week and accidentally given the same name. At least we didn’t divulge it to each other beforehand, so neither of us could be accused of copying the other (not that we’d have minded) or be deterred from using the same name. 

Georgia’s Response Surprised Me 

When I asked Georgia the usual question for this series - “what would you do differently if you could have your time again?” - I was a little surprised by her answer. As someone I feel I know well, I would have always described Georgia as quietly confident. Not the loudest person in the room, despite often being the most intellectual or interesting, but not someone who seemed like a little bit of a pushover (her words, not mine, when we chatted). 

Here’s what she had to say: 

The one thing I wish I learnt earlier on in my career was to be myself a little bit more and set boundaries around how I presented myself and how I let people treat me. 

When you’re young, you’re so eager to please, and of course, when you’re just starting out in a career there is an element where you just have to grit your teeth and get on with it. You hope everyone likes you, you’re always enthusiastic, always smiling and eager to help. For such a long time, even when I was quite well established, I feel like I was so eager to make a good impression with the right people, that I lost a sense of my identity a bit. And I think really that doesn’t get you anywhere, as you then get walked all over when it comes to pay rises, and your voice suddenly isn’t really heard in the right rooms. I experienced a lot of that. 

And it was only when I realised that actually, do you know what, I know I’m doing a really good job, I know I’m good at what I do, and I’m just going to present myself as me. And they will judge me on the quality of my work and what I do, rather than how polite, and smiley and quiet I am. It was only really then, when I started to put boundaries in place, and just decided to be myself, and that they could just deal with it. 

Not saying yes to absolutely everything and just try to be a little bit more (I hate the word empowered) but empowered. I wish I’d done that earlier in my life because I did get overlooked for a lot of pay rises and promotions because I was just seen to be quite meek and people-pleasing - “oh you know it’s fine, I totally understand, don’t worry about it” - kind of thing. I wish I had more faith in myself earlier on in my career, I think that would have been helpful and would have helped me out in a lot of situations. 

Feelings That a Lot of Us Can Relate To

I can recall feeling eager to please early on in my career too. I bounced between projecting a false confidence and trying to assert myself, to holding back when I needed to push forward. Looking back, I realise how much of this was tied to a lack of confidence in setting boundaries at work and being true to myself too. It’s a hard one to juggle, especially when other people can be intimidating (even if unintentionally). One thing you learn as your career and experience develops is that everyone is a person – you can connect on some level, no matter who they are. You also realise that people often have so many things going on in their lives – be it personally or professionally – that if something feels off, then it’s usually nothing to do with you. 

Another important lesson is that not everyone will like you, and that’s okay. I still wrestle with this, though - it’s not so much the idea of people disliking me that I struggle with, but the nagging thought that I might have done something wrong to cause it. I really wish I could be someone who doesn’t care at all about what others think, but it doesn’t seem to be in my nature. However, learning to set workplace boundaries and being true to myself has helped me (and Georgia). So, here’s to growing older and leaning into my "no shits given" era - a work in progress, but one I’m determined to embrace.