Even with COVID restrictions lifting, warm weather becoming a reality, and family trips in the near future, you may be finding it difficult to ‘leave work at work.’ Surely, you are hoping for an enjoyable summer and have some new things to look forward to now, but you are also stuck in a bad habit of letting work consume your head space. What follows are some helpful starting points, no matter if you work from home or have been commuting.
Set Limits
Maybe you have been staying extra late some nights, trying to make up for lost productivity within your team, or maybe you have felt less productive at points in the day, and find yourself trying to play catch up. Make a commitment to only spend a certain amount of time on work related things, after your ‘day’ has ended. This may vary, but set an alarm, write it on a sticky note, or text your spouse the time you plan to leave. There is only so much that can get done today, so remind yourself that certain things can wait.
Create a Ritual
Do you have a filing cabinet, drawer, or computer that you close before leaving for home? Take that brief moment to practice the skill of ‘turning off’ or ‘shutting down’ the work part of your mind. Can you sit in your car, on the porch, or in your room for 10 minutes when you return home? Use a structured bit of time to switch gears for engagement with your family or roommates. If you work from home, you might even consider making the hallway or another room your transitional space.
Practice Gratitude
The human mind naturally gravitates towards the problem; it is called the negativity bias: unpleasant feelings and events have a greater effect on our psychological state than positive ones. So, make it a routine to focus on three successes or good things from your day, no matter how small they seem. Jot them down to spend a few minutes in reflection. Writing actually stimulates different parts of the brain and can help to further reinforce those positives.
Expand Your Sense of Self
Do these sound familiar: ‘I am an engineer,’ ‘I work for a non-profit,’ or ‘I work in IT.’ How often do you define or explain yourself in terms of your job? Instead, focus more of your mental energy throughout the day about other parts of your identity: your hobbies, your family, or your spirituality. Then, start to talk more openly about those things with the people around you to strengthen the neural pathways of your thoughts and feelings about a fuller version of you.
Wherever you start, on your path of separation from work-mode, know the process will take time and some probable setbacks. You did not end up where you are overnight, and habits take time to form; so, start today, to better yourself and to strengthen your relationships. Finally, reach out to our team for further guidance through therapy. We would love to partner with you.
To schedule a therapy appointment with Andrew Denecke, or one of our therapists at LiveFree Counseling, please call 720.465.6180 or click here.
