How do you switch off after work?

[atleastitswarm]

I’m not a particularly anxious person but have been having ‘post-work anxiety’ recently. I work in the evenings until 9pm-ish and find that when I get home I keep thinking about things I did at work, whether I locked up properly, things customers have said etc. Nothing of great importance - just thoughts in my head which make it hard to switch off and relax.

I’ve started getting changed straight out of work clothes when I get back which I didn’t used to bother doing - as it’s late when I get back I used to just wait until I went to bed to put pyjamas on. This has helped a bit to get me out of work mode. Any other tips?

For me a warm bath, TV and reading. Cuddles with the dog and also listening to music. I am similar and tend to overthink about things due to my anxiety.

Definitely getting changed when I get in. I have a couple of websites/forums that I check every day after I've finished work. Netflix, lots of Netflix. Checking up on family or friends which I might not get around to during the day. And for me, weirdly, organising or designing a schedule for the following day. If I know I've got a plan for next day, I'll stop stressing so much and feel a little more in control.

What time do you go to bed if you don't get home until 9. I need a few hours to read a book / watch TV. I will talk about work when I first get home and over tea but not afterwards as DP doesn't like it and actually it helps not to talk about it just before bed.

I like to work out abs use the hot tub added work. I use the exercise time to debrief from my day and then make a conscious effort to move on from thoughts of work.

Depends on your job, but do you finish your day properly? Sometimes, taking the last 15 mins of the work day, to tick off your to do list and prepare for tomorrow, rather than ending up going home and then mentally running through everything (over and over because you'll forget otherwise).

Coming in, getting changed and making a drink, sitting down for 5/10 mins before you set to again on home things - its just work in a different form so it never feels like a disconnect

If you are worried about not locking up, ticking off a to do list before you leave work might really help.
Washing hands when you get in as a symbolic 'ritual' ridding yourself of the day - any negative comments down the plughole!
Before you leave work, think if three things that went well that day, one that could have been better, then switch off, rest snd recharge.
Exercise a bit if not too late or meditate.
I have also had hypnotherapy which has really helped with compartamentalising for me, mong other things.

Lots of typos, on phone - *of three things that went well - there always should be, no matter how small.

I ride my bike home. It helps me decompress. Smell the fresh air, look around at something that's not a screen.

How long is your commute? I definitely found it easier to switch off when I had a longer commute. I’d listen to the radio or an audiobook

Do you finish at 9pm because you work shifts or are you working very much beyond your contracted hours?

Not everyone who finishes work at 9pm works shifts or is doing overtime. There are a multitude of jobs whose normal business hours are different from 9-5.

I normally work either 9am-10pm (with appropriate breaks) or 1-11pm, and we don’t do shifts, nor am I going over my contracted hours.

Thank you so much for all the responses everybody, glad to know it’s not just me who feels like this!

I’m not going over my contracted hours slaving away thank goodness, my finish time is just 9pm. To answer a PP with what time I go to bed, this is something I struggle with. I haven’t worked 12-9pm for long, it used to be 9am-6pm so I had a much more structured routine. Those of you who finish at 9pm, do you still try and get to bed at a normal time (say, between 10:30 and 11:30’ or does that go out the window because you finish late? I try and just get to bed within an hour or so of getting back so I can still wake up early but then I lie awake tossing and turning because I haven’t wound down so maybe I should rethink that.

My commute is on the bus for about 25 mins which I find does actually help a bit as I just flick through my phone or read a book.

@EileenGC

Not everyone who finishes work at 9pm works shifts or is doing overtime. There are a multitude of jobs whose normal business hours are different from 9-5.

I normally work either 9am-10pm (with appropriate breaks) or 1-11pm, and we don’t do shifts, nor am I going over my contracted hours.

Working either 9-10 or 1-11 sounds like shift work to me 😘

When I worked those kind of hours I’d come home, have a light meal and watch something on tv to wind down a bit, I’d aim to be in bed by 11.30 and get up around 7 and use the morning to do the things I need around the house, go to the gym etc. Basically the stuff I now do in the evenings I’d do in the morning.

The temptation is to stay up later and sleep later but I found I wasn’t getting anything done on my working days - it felt like I was just working and sleeping so I really needed to change things around.

Then you have a very narrow view of the working world out there. How can it be shift work when every single employee is doing the same hours? Have you ever heard of the entertainment, arts, sport industries…? And many others? They’re not shifts, they’re the working schedule. Regularly getting a 10pm flight back after a full working day abroad is also not shift work. No need for the passive aggressive kisses btw.

To answer the OP, bedtime is something I struggle with because like you, I need some down time before actually going to sleep. I try and always go to sleep before midnight but it very much depends on what time you need to get up in the morning. I often stay up until 1-2am especially if I only got home at 11pm, but that doesn’t work on the days I need to be out the door by 7.30am for example… it’s tricky.

25 minutes on the bus would be only 30 mins on a bike...
I'm only pushing this idea because the difference in me was massive when I stopped taking the bus and started taking a bike instead.

By applying for other jobs haha!!