Why You Should Leave Work At Work...
Posted: 1st Jun 2018
Leaving your work behind at the end of the day is very
important! You need to forget about it, and enjoy a relaxing evening. No
friction, lots of rest, return next day refreshed and ready to tackle what’s
waiting for you.
Treat your commute home as a positive time to wind down and
start the process of relaxation. Play some music, if you can. Whistle or sing
to yourself. Enjoy the drive or the train journey. You might as well, since you
have to do it, enjoyable or not. Don’t catch up on the news. It’s bound to
remind you of work or depress you.
Never hurry home. If you do, every hold-up, traffic jam,
late train, or missed bus will be a source of additional stress. Take it easy,
even if you don’t dillydally.
Treat your commute home as your time—a period just for you.
All day at work, you’re at other peoples’ call. Now it’s time to relax and be
yourself.
The worse the day, the more time you will need to relax. The
worst thing to do is stay late, then rush home. You’ll arrive like a grizzly
bear with toothache.
If you need to rant and vent, do it along the way. Curse the
world in the privacy of your own vehicle. Park up and yell where no one can
hear you. Walk to the station the long way, yelling and cursing (silently!) to
yourself. Don’t walk in the door when you arrive and start into a rant. Who
wants to welcome anyone like that?
If you must take work home, agree a set time to do it and
stick to that agreement. Early is best. If you spend an hour or more working
before you get into bed, you’ll be wide awake, probably sleep badly, and start
the next day off badly.
Always keep your promises. If you’ve arranged to eat out,
don’t cancel because of tiredness or extra work. If you’ve promised to help
your child with homework, do it whatever. Firstly, people who break promises
are teaching those around them a dangerous lesson. Secondly, though you may
really, really not want to do what you promised, you may well end up enjoying
it—and feel far more energized than if you slumped in front of the TV. And
lastly, you promised, remember?
Be firm with yourself. In the end, leaving work behind,
mentally and physically, is down to you. You have to want to do it, decide to
do it, and then do it—and keep on doing it until it becomes the norm. Slowing
down and clearing your mind of the leftovers from the day is an act of will.
You may think that watching TV or distracting yourself in some other way is a
short-cut, but it isn’t. The minute you ease up on the distraction, all the
worries will be back.
Guess what? It will all still be there in the morning.
Forgetting about it for an evening will not cause the business to collapse. Sadly,
all of us are utterly expendable. If you went under the bus, the world would go
on smoothly without you. Remember that when you’re burning the midnight oil.