Do you find it difficult at times to turn the work switch off at the end of the day? Separating work from home is a struggle many people face, so to combat this, I reached out to a corporate health and wellness coach for suggestions.
Kayla B., MPH, who is a Nationally Certified Health and Wellness Coach, shared the following great tips:
- One tip you can try to do as you’re trying to transition from work life to home life at the end of the day is to do literally anything physical. That could mean you walk to your mailbox to get the mail, that could mean going on a 5 minute walk, that could mean spending 2 minutes stretching, that could mean doing 10 squats, that could mean giving yourself a foot massage, that could mean rubbing your hands slowly together back and forth for 30 seconds. The point in doing something physical is to prime your brain to tell it that you are going into the next phase of the day. This will help you turn off work and get into home life.
- Close your computer at the end of the day, and do not open it again until you start work the next day. This might feel like a huge challenge, and if you’re having trouble checking your email after work hours, you need to decide what is most important to you. Is it more important to check your email 10 times after you log off for the day, or is it more important for me to spend quality time with yourself, your partner, and your children?
- Every person’s situation is different, so if it is still important for you to check your email, that’s absolutely fine. What you need to do then is pick a number. “I am only going to check my email two times after I log off at 5:00 p.m.” Stick to this boundary. When you create boundaries you are going to have a happier life.
A strategy that has worked well for me is turning off the email notifications on my phone. I had a really hard time disciplining myself not to check an email when I heard the ding, but turning off the notifications has made a huge difference in my personal work-life balance.
What are some strategies which have worked for you to separate work from home?
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