To ask for tips on how you switch off from work?

[PinMoo]

Hi, how do you switch off from work? I'm really struggling at the moment to switch off. I work part time and the days i don't work I can't stop thinking about work. How do you detach yourself? I do work in a fast pace environment and i am just a few months in. Could it because I care too much? How do I treat it just like a job rather than emotionally invest in it? I don't see people around me struggling to finish on time or check their emails out of work time. I've put a stop to both of those things now but I'm still struggling to switch off. And tips please? Thanks

I also struggle with this, I find because I give a toss about work and my performance it makes it harder to stop thinking about it.
I try and make a list of the tasks I have to do, not necessarily on that day but just having them written down means I don't worry ive forgot about something, and if they're not done that day I know I've done the urgent ones and have a plan to do the rest. Try to end the day by finishing a task so you have a sense of completeness. When you get home take 15 minutes if you can to just do nothing and zone out a bit.

You can't let your job dictate your free time to that extent. I find it easy but I have a job where you clock out at the end of the day and that's it until the next shift - I don't have to answer calls or deal with emails or anything outside or work time so I just don't think about it.

Maybe give yourself the journey home to think about anything work-related and then try not to do it when you get home?

What sort of environment do you work in? That may help give specific tips.

For me switch off phone/work laptop out with work time. Always ensure you have an appropriate out of office and voicemail to support this. At the end of each day/working week review your to do list/productivity and accept anything outstanding needs to be dealt with. I like a to do list as I'm a visual thinker so it's good got me to see what tasks are completed versus outstanding. Use this list on your next day in.

Have you had any feedback? If not be proactive in meeting with your line manager to discuss how the role is going so far. Agree where you both feel your skill set and competency is based on time in the business and objectives. Perhaps you are being self-critical, or it may be that there is training available that would boost your skillet/efficiency.

Hope that helps a little. What you are feeling can become overwhelming so it's great you are identifying now that this could be healthier

I sometimes do a bit of yoga or meditation, but my fail safe is reading. Even if I just read a chapter when I get in from work it helps.
It's not good for you at all not switching off and can tip over into stress if you're not careful. Take care of yourself and remember work isn't the be all and end all

Thanks everyone for your advice.

I was given alot more work than I could possibly fit in, but I have been vocal about that and addessed it now, but I think the bad habits got set in. I've just downloaded a blocker app that blocks my usage of certain work related apps.

I'm in the digital sector, and the pace is fast. I'm not senior but I do have high aspirations but maybe I just need to lower them and stop caring too much about the job and aboit career progression. I need to learn to say NO more and schedule in all my development activities during work rather than after it, which is what I am doing currently. So although keeping up to date with the latest in my field is actually one of my work objectives, I need to make sure I do those in work time rather than after it (Which is what I am doing currently!). It's hard ... But I know I need to put a stop to it or else I'm going to burn out.

I already have a to do list but I need to schedule in time at the end of the week to review it. I find myself madly rushing and over working at on the last day. Thanks a bunch that's a great idea!

RunnIng and swimming.

I struggle with this...I wake early and worry about my cases. I try the following:
Exercise - something physical to switch my brain off,
Headspace app on my phone
Reading - my best method but when really stressed I can't take a lot in so read short stories or ghost/ mysteries
Talking myself down: 'It's only a job/ in a 100 years we'll all be dead (!)/ Ruby Wax says if you're thinking about work you might as well still be in the office/ it's not my case it's my employers etc etc
But I can't believe after all these years I haven't managed to learn a definitive coping strategy

You can still care about your job and switch off

Sometimes I find people can be a bit of a martyr about work and imply that they care so much that they can’t switch off.

You need to find things that you enjoy outside of work to help you. Exercise, hobbies, friends and family.

Turn off any ability to check emails, have a separate work phone if possible.

Exercise. Pilates. Yoga. Swimming. Boxing.
And shopping. And Housework with music blaring.

Definitely a good gripping book. If I can fall asleep wondering what on earth will happen to Marnie and Bill then I don't worry about work. Disclaimer - not their real names!

Have a little ritual that to you is the signal that you’ve left work, switched off and concentrating on other things.
Things like
Writing a list of what needs to be done the next time your at work and draw a line underneath it
A quick shower when you get home or washing your hands with some nice soap (‘washing away’ your work for the day)
A cup of tea in a particular mug
Anything that works for you.

@luckylavendar

@NecklessMumster thanks

Looks like downloading books onto Kindle might help. I tend to enjoy more chick lit types of books when stressed but can't bear reading them as they feel like a waste of time

@ILiveInSalemsLot never thought of a ritual thing ... Could eating a bar of chocolate be the ritual?

I walk the dogs at the end of a working day. Really helps clear my head.

Change your clothes as soon as you get home, or, if working from home, after you finish with work.

For me it is gardening and anything to do with getting fresh air though my hair.

I also work to my hours usually.

I do compressed hours so work longer days, 4 days a week. Whilst I am flexible about what I do on my usual day off, I get that time back at a different time in the week.

For a new project, I am happy to do more when it is needed, don't beat myself up about it, and take the time back when it is quieter - and when it will save me loads of time further into the project.

The ritual thing is interesting, I work from home and always use a specific mug for my coffee. Last weekend my OH made me a coffee and put it in my work mug and I was beset with angst because the Pavlovian response was to take it to the garden room office, and crank up the laptop. It felt well weird drinking from it in the dining room, on a weekend.

@sackrifice that's interesting I also work from home most days. I think I find it easier to draw the line on my office days as there's a clear separation and i get fresh air and a walk etc too. What else do you do when you work from home besides the different mug?

I find that the key to this is to feel that your work is done, organised and under control, so that when you leave you know you’re not going to come back to a big hairy mess to sort out. Note I say FEEL like, it doesn’t mean you have no work left to do, it means your state of mind is that it’s ok if you’re not there for a day or however long you’re off in your working pattern.

You need to work out what this means for you. Do you need to have all your work planned? Do you need to have a to- do list? I find those help for me. For instance, I’ve just started two weeks off for Christmas. I have lots to do when I go back to work, so I spent my last working day reviewing everything and making a thorough to-do list for the NY.

Other things I do include:
Being in control of when I am contactable out of work time. This meant making it clear to colleagues/manager that I was not to be contacted on my personal number at all, and blocking their numbers if they didn’t respect this (only one person in the end) Now I only use my work phone for all work communications including whatsapp groups etc. I switch it off when I’m not at work. This was a major change for me, and took away the constant intrusion.
Sometimes I do find myself thinking about something important work related that I need to remember - I send myself an email at work so I know I’m not going to forget to do it, and I’m not having to hang on to it in my own mind until next work day. This works really well, and I’ve suggested it to other people who have also found it useful.
I work at home a lot, so it’s easy to have the laptop out and on all the time. I’ve become very strict about this now. I designated a place for my laptop to live when I’m not working, and at the end of the working day I switch it off and put it away every time.

For me, it’s about boundaries. You need some for other people, some for yourself.

You're still new and your brain is trying to process a lot of information and learn, so it's running through everything in your downtime as well. In time when you settle in it should calm down on its own - if it doesn't then exercise is your best bet.

I remember still being able to hear the beeping of the checkouts in my head for the first few months in my first (supermarket) job.

Have something else which actually demands your attention. For me it's art. I go to a class for a couple of hours on my day off, but also do plenty at home. When you're absorbed in doing something else, you'll find that you've no head space left for work.

Also, spending time doing something that relaxes you is NOT a waste of time. Read the books you enjoy!

I have an hour commute, door to door.

On the way in to work, I get into work mode, so I have no non-work distractions.

On the way home from work, I go into home mode, so that I fully concentrate on non-work thoughts and activities.

Lists do help. And I know I can leave things parked, as they will get my 100% attention at some point in the day.

@UserMcUser

That's interesting, because atm I'm doing it the other way round. I'm going to look at switching that around...

Fresh air and exercise.
When I taught, I used to cope with the end of the school year by booking myself on a National Trust working holiday immediately, otherwise I would either sit at home and mope or continue going in to school and mope. On a working holiday I would get up, make a packed lunch, get in a van, be dropped off in the middle of nowhere and be told to clear a footpath or put up a barbed wire fence for the rest of the day. It was wonderful - apologies though as I know it’s not a solution for you OP.

It's difficult, isn't it OP! I also work part-time now (3 days a week) and I find it almost impossible to switch off from work on my non working days.

Do you find, like me, that you can't fit everything into the 3 days? I often stay late and work extra hours to get things done. I've brought stuff home to do over Christmas.

I'm not sure what the answer is. I sometimes hanker after the sort of job where I would turn up, be told what to do, would do that and then go back home! It would be so liberating not to have to plan, prioritise etc.