Every person needs to rest. Even the computer, at which you many eight hours or more per day, periodically needs to be recharged. It is important and valuable to know which are the best ways for you to switch gears switch between work and productivity mode into rest and leisure.
With many working from home, the lines between work and home life are blurring. Smartphones that allow us to be in touch 24 hours a day and constantly trying to notify us can make it more challenging to switch out of work mode and into leisure mode. Do you still remember those distant days when the work was not urgent?
While work can seem urgent and like the top priority, it's important to remember that friends, family, children, hobbies, and your life are urgent and important too.
We're not meant to have a 24-hour workday and there's no proof that this will make our lives, well-being, or career better. The key to happiness is balance.
If the balance shifts way too far toward work, then there is a great risk of emotional burnout. Thus, the ability to smoothly move from solving work issues into relaxation, rest, and laziness, will help you not only maintain mental health but also enjoy life and its diversity. Here's how to learn to switch between work and rest quickly.
Meditate or Exercise After Work
Even some professional athletes go through some kind of meditation activity after a competition that helps them to recover from the main activity and let it go. Take this life hack into service, because it is suitable not only for professional athletes but also for ordinary people. Yoga can be a good option too. You can even find suitable online meditation and yoga classes that will fit your time and mood.
Moving your body will help shift gears also. Go to the park, practice yoga, or get off the bus a couple of stops early to walk. You will be surprised by the results. Turn Off Your Cellphone
While your phone is on you might regularly get notifications that grab your attention at an instant. You can put it into airplane mode or turn it off to help you switch off after work is up to you. No one will arrest you for not checking your email after work hours.
When you are driving home or on the subway, the best thing to do with your smartphone is to listen to relaxing music, a funny podcast, or a good audiobook.
Create a Ritual
Taking a bubble bath every evening, preparing dinner listening to your favorite albums, or going to the gym right after work. These habits not only have a positive effect on your body but also help you relax and shift from work to life. Even watching TV helps to take a breath and abstract from the hard-working days. Just don't overdo it and waste the entire evening thoughtlessly switching between channels and plunging deeper into your thoughts. And by the way, leave your phone and laptop charging in another room - you don't need them all of the time.
Use Your Commute as Decompression Time
If you have to sit in traffic, put on your favorite music, recite affirmations, or an inspirational podcast. If you take public transportation, reading is a simple way to give your brain a rest during your commute. It's even possible to meditate on the train. While commuting hours can sometimes feel like a waste of time, but if you utilize these hours to benefit your well-being and shift into and out of work mode, these can be valuable hours in your day.
Be Realistic About Your Worries
Ask yourself, when was the last time something terrible, irreparable, and urgent happened, while you were having fun with friends, reading a fairy tale to a child, or just watching a movie? Let's be honest, our worries are usually unfounded.
The decision to work at night and constantly monitor your tasks is usually a person decision, sometimes out of good motivation, but oftentimes out of fear and guilt, and rarely a requirement of your boss. Of course, there are circumstances when you really need to work overtime, but such situations are not every day. If you're in perpetual workaholism, maybe you haven’t found an interesting hobby to do, you need to control everything, or you want to get excessive approval from superiors.
You have every right to devote some hours in the evening to relax, without feeling guilty, but it has to be your conscious choice. Find what works for you to let go of any workday stress, and shift into leisure mode and can be more present for your loved ones and yourself.
By Angela Johnson
Angela Johnson is a skilled content writer who writes articles on topics like HR, business, education, self-growth, and many others.
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