Jul 7

Jul 7 4 Ways to Switch Off from Work

If you’ve been working from home for the last few months, you may be finding every day feels the same. This is often due to the monotony and similarity of each day. Similarly you may also be finding it difficult to switch off from work as it blurs into your home time. So here are ways to help you switch off:

1.) Have a “transition” activity, after you log off from work

Normally you would have your commute home to allow your brain to slowly transition into a relaxed home state. Now that’s gone, so try to replace it with another activity such as:

a walk
a yoga session
an episode of friends, or a podcast
your daily phone call with your mum

Once your brain starts to associate that activity as the end of work, your brain will be less likely to switch back to work.

2.) Start a project which you can invest time in and develop

If you’re the type of person that constantly has to be doing something productive to release pent up frustration, then find something that you can work on to improve. Your day job can be addictive because there is always something you can improve upon and build on at work. So try to find something else outside of work that you can build on and feel a sense of achievement. Here are a few things I’ve been doing:

Writing more often on my blog, increasing readers and subscribers!
Improving my home - I’m starting on a project to put up more pictures and prints up around the house.
Starting yoga - I’ve started yoga and can start to feel an improvement in my ability.

Other things I’m thinking of doing are:

Investing in a few pot plants - again these are things that I have to keep an eye on and invest effort into looking after.
Learning a language or instrument.

Your day job should not be the only place where you invest your time and skills in.

3.) Try meditation

These were all the rage a couple of years ago, and for many this may have fallen off the radar, but there are still plenty of apps which offer free meditation sessions. (They are also great for falling back to sleep if you’ve ever woken up thinking about work!)

4.) Try to incorporate some variety into each week

The thing is, once you start to do the same thing every day, even a walk, it can become monotonous and your brain starts to carry out that activity subconsciously, not giving it much thought, so your mind ends up going back to work. Have you ever wondered why holidays abroad really allow you to switch off? It’s because the environment is so new, your brain is so richly stimulated, it doesn’t default back to work. So try to create some richness and variety in your life. It can start with the tiniest thing such as:

Rearrange the furniture in your room. Maybe move the bed so that you wake up in a different spot!
Buy a new poster for your walls!
Listen to NEW music.
Learn NEW recipes to cook.
Drive to a different location for a walk.
Catch up with an OLD friend that you haven’t spoken to in ages.

I hope this has given you some ideas as to what you can do to regain some joy and variety outside of work.

Good Luck!