Work is a major part of our life and our career and occupation is inextricably linked to our core need to be a significant member of society. However, it is just as important to have a life outside the office and spend quality time with family and friends as well as make room for ‘Me-time’.
The borders between our professional life and our personal life get more and more blurred these days and we live in a workaholic century where life outside the office takes a backseat. With the fast technological progress, high-speed business activity and ruthless competition, having a healthy work-life balance seems to be more and more challenging and leads to emotional overload for many.
However, to avoid health issues, emotional distress, family crisis and chronic stress, it is more crucial than ever to set firm boundaries and leave work at work, stop taking work stress home and start enjoying your time away from the office. Reality is, there will always be work left undone at the end of the day, but if you can leave work behind gracefully and are able to enjoy a relaxing evening, you will be more productive the next day because you had time to re-energize and recharge.
Here are our TOP 10 tips to leave work at work and leave it all behind at the end of the day.
#1 Plan Effectively
If you don’t have any plan, time disappears into nowhere without achieving any results while at the same time feeling incredibly exhausted and fatigued. There are a million things to do and without a plan, you just try to do everything all at once, which only causes chaos and leads to emotional and mental tension. However, if you plan your day and have a strategy what you want to achieve, your mind clears up and you know exactly at what point you can stop working, at which point you will feel satisfied that you completed everything you set out to do. And with that you don’t only effectively tackle your work day, but you can enjoy your after-work high-quality leisure time and emotional health.
#2 Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
Diet and exercise don’t just positively affect our physical health, they are also key ingredients for our mental and emotional well-being. When you stick to a regular workout schedule and eat a healthy, well-balanced, nutrient-dense diet, you can effectively manage stress and are better equipped to leave work at the office. Make it a point to steer clear of sugar, caffeine, high-fat foods and instead opt for high-fiber, protein-rich, complex carb foods with healthy fats and lots of fruits and vegetables to help fight stress and boost your immune system. And a regular workout routine will increase your productivity at work, while decreasing stress and improving focus and mood, so you get more done at the office and can relax when you get home.
#3 Take Breaks Throughout the Day
Research shows that taking periodic breaks throughout the day leads to higher productivity, greater job satisfaction, greater effort and reduced emotional exhaustion. A break allows you to re-energize, find your motivation and focus again and get work done effectively without having to deal with lower back pain, headaches or eye strain. All of which will lead to a productive day at work that will make you feel satisfied that you achieved something, which allows you to enjoy high-quality after hour activities without wasting any time thinking about work.
#4 Turn Off Your Work Phone
Before smart phones and other high-tech devices, people were able to work effectively and whatever happened during non-working hours could easily wait for the next morning. However, with our smart phones and human impulse to respond to every message immediately, we let our workday bleed into our free time without even thinking twice about it. Make a conscious decision to not answer phone calls, text message or emails after you leave work. Sure it will be tough in the beginning, but after a period of time it will become second nature and your co-workers, boss and clients will respect you for respecting your personal space and time.
#5 Determine Your Priorities
In order to be efficient at work you need to prioritize your work projects and choose which one is more important to get done at any given moment. However, there is also the task of prioritizing work or family and friends. While the first one is detrimental to be effective at work, choosing between work and personal life is a lot more complicated. With the development of more dynamic business environments, companies are more open to a more flexible work schedule, so if an important personal matter comes up you could make up for missed work time either early in the morning or late at night. Figure out a schedule that works best for you to achieve the work-life balance that best fits your needs.
#6 Write Your To-Do List Before You Leave
Whenever you are done with all your projects for the day, take a few minutes to plan your to-do list for the next day. It’s just a few extra minutes, but it will be highly beneficial for your sanity because if you don’t write your to-do list before you leave work, work stuff will keep popping into your head at random throughout the evening and by the time you get to your desk in the morning, you will have forgotten most of them. See it as releasing all your work thoughts onto a piece of paper and with that allow yourself to go home without having to take work with you.
#7 Create an Enjoyable Self-Care Routine
Having a fun, relaxing evening planned prevents you from thinking about how stressed you are at work and the million and one things that you need to do to finish a project. It is essential for your mental and emotional well-being that you plan some kind of self-care every evening. Something that you look forward to and that takes your mind off of work. Whatever it is that you enjoy doing, do it. You deserve some rest and relaxation, especially after a long day at work, to destress and get rid of fatigue.
#8 Use Your Commute to Transition
We tend to be on auto-pilot when we are going about our routine, but this also means that we are missing out on a lot of the wonders and beauty of life. Use your commute as a transition from work to personal time and make it a time to reconnect and discover the incredible richness of the life that’s all around you. Make it a point to take a few moments before you leave work to take a few breaths, maybe even meditate for a few minutes and set an intention for using your commute as a transition. And as you are on your commute, be curious about the things and people you see and make it a fun experience that makes you discover something new every single day.
#9 Indulge in a Dose of Humor
Laughter is the perfect antidote to a sour mood while at the same time, it can calm a situation or simply provide a healthy dose of distraction from whatever is going on in your life right now. And while it may seem odd to schedule time for humor, it may be just what you need to let go of all your work issues and make a healthy transition into your after-work life. Watch a funny YouTube video, read a funny blog, talk to your friend who always makes you laugh or indulge in a comedy show. Whatever makes you laugh out loud, remember that a dose of humor will do you a world of good.
#10 Be Firm with Yourself
Ultimately, whether or not you can leave work at work comes down to you. You have to decide that that’s what you want, commit to it and then do it. Leaving work at work is an act of will and a choice. Once you made the decision to leave work at work, be firm with yourself and enforce your decision. And remember, distractions may work in the short-term, but once the distraction is over, your thoughts will go right back to work, so you need to make the conscious decision and stick to it.
Remember, unfinished work will still be there in the morning and taking the evening off won’t collapse your business, crash the markets or cause civilization to come to an end. Enjoy your time away from the office, get a good night’s sleep and go back to the office the next day full of energy and focus.
CREATE A HEALTHY WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND TAKE TIME TO RECHARGE
Joschi & Monika
#BoldNaked