Our work lives can get beyond busy! Hectic is probably a more appropriate word. We work for 8 hours a day, commute for an hour or so either way and then need time to relax and unwind, whilst also doing jobs at home and spending time with family and friends. So often there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. Those people with jobs they love, jobs that they consider to be really important and even those who work for themselves, can find it difficult to switch off from work.
Do you find yourself thinking of the jobs you need to get done at work, until the small hours of the night? Do you check your emails at all hours, and even worse, reply to them? Is your job and the expectations of your role impacting other areas of your life? Let's reclaim some of that life, create a better work life balance and find ways to switch off from work.
Leave Work At The Door
If you find it hard to stop thinking about work, start leaving work at the door. Come to an agreement that you wont discuss work at home. Of course, there will be times that you need to discuss something that is going on. However, you should take that ‘leave work at the door' idea literally and if you need to talk about work, leave the house. This creates a border and definition between work and home life. Once the boundaries are blurred, it's hard to come back from it. This can be difficult if you work from home, like so many of us do and have been. If you have an office at home, put a lock on it and lock it at the end of the working day. This stops you nipping in there to send an email or print something off. you Can do that tomorrow! Make a rule and stick to it.
Clear Your Head
Clearing your head can help you switch off from work. Different people do this in different ways. Some people go for a walk, others go for a run. Some pop their headphones on and clear their head by listening to their favourite music or podcast. There are people who enjoy Yoga or Pilates to clear their head and others who meditate. Puzzles, reading and doing an adult colouring in book can also help you clear your head. Find a way to switch off from work. I love doing some yoga. Make sure you have the best yoga mat you can get!
Spend More Time With Family
What are we working for? To provide for our families. If you are constantly working, you're not enjoying the reasoning why you are working do hard. Take time away from work and spend some proper time with your family. Include your friends too. This can be a walk around the block at the end of the day before putting the kids to bed. This could be kicking a ball around the garden with the children. It could be simply promising to have dinner together every evening, so you have to be back from work at a specific time. Family time is wonderful and it brings us closer and grows our love.
Find A Hobby
What can you do with your spare time? If you use your spare time to do more work, you need to find a hobby. This could be running, swimming, cycling, crafting! A hobby can help us switch off from work and can give us a creative outlet that perhaps our job doesn't allow. You could enjoy painting, hiking, maybe even photography. Hobbies can get us out and about and also give us extra purpose to our lives. They can keep us healthy, put a smile on our face and open us up to new groups of people we wouldn't usually meet or mix with. Look for a five a side football team in your area. Join the gym. Find a church who need singers. A hobby can be a great way to switch off from work. All in all hobbies are great.
Make Plans To Look Forward To
We spend a lot of time working and our calendars can get filled up with meetings and business trips. Make some plans that you can look forward to. This could be a family holiday, a weekend break with friends or simply a day out to the countryside. Maybe a meal out for a birthday, a date night with your partner or an evening in watching a film. When we make plans we have purpose. We can look forward to them, giving us a reason to get through the day and get home. Remove your thoughts from the world of work and instead, enjoy the plans that make our lives fun.
Get Away From It All
We've mentioned holidays and trips already but getting away from it all can be great for your mind, body and soul. You could even decide to go completely off grid so there is no physical way of checking emails or returning phone calls. Get yourself away and let yourself unwind. You can switch off from work by forcing yourself to do just that. Look at some nature, go for a long walk, enjoy amazing views which can put our lives into perspective. A retreat could be a great way to see life in a new way and then implement physical change.
Remove Distractions
We are so connected, all the time. Phones in our pockets give people a way to connect with us at all hours of the day. The ability to log onto emails and join Wi-Fi pretty much anywhere can be beyond distracting. Leave the laptop at home next time you go away for a weekend. Switch your phone off and throw it in a drawer when you get home. Switch the internet off for a night and put the landline on do-not-disturb. Remove those distractions that pull you away from life and back into work.
Set & Stick To An Evening Routine
Find an evening routine that works for you. Setting and sticking to a new routine is difficult to begin with but it can be a great way to make a proper change. Maybe you get home from work by a certain time and help your children with their homework whilst tea is in the oven. You can then play as a family and get the kids tucked into bed for a story by a specific time. When they are asleep you could go for a run and have a shower before enjoying a glass of wine with your partner. Find a routine that works for you.
We are all different and what might work for me won't necessarily work for others. There does need to be a better work life balance in this hectic modern world though. Find a way to switch off from work.
