[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When you leave work, are you able to disconnect or do you continue brooding over things? Many of us carry on thinking about this task you have not had time to get done; that task you should have done, but is still pending due to the hustle of the day; or that other thing you ought to have done, but when you finally had time, you did not have the energy or feel like it.
So, I will give you very simple tricks which might seem obvious but which I think we do not or not always put into practice:
1. Review your task list(s)
This advice might seem evident but how many people do not take five to ten minutes for it at the end of the work day. I am talking about going through your task list and prepare the list for the next day. It will help you clear your mind off the issues remaining undone and disconnect better. As well, it will help you start the next day more productively as you will know what you have to get done.
Write down anything on your mind
Write down not only what you have to do the next day, but anything on your mind: this call you have to return at a certain point; that presentation whose content you have think about; that task you have forgot about – and if you do not write it down, you will forget again…
If you have managed to strip your mind off all those pending issues, the next morning you might even catch yourself thinking “I have disconnected so well that, without having a look at my list, I do not even remember what I have to do first.” This means your mind has trusted the notes you took.
Your mind does not have a sense of opportunity
According to David Allen, creator and author of Getting Things Done®, our mind does not have a sense of time. So, if you have not written down a thing on your mind in a place where you will be able to locate it, your mind will not tire of reminding you that you have to do that task. But as your mind does not have a sense of good timing either, it is pretty probable that it will remind you of the task at hand in moments when you cannot do anything about it.
An example David Allen gives is the flashlight without batteries. When will your mind remind you to replace the batteries? When you are in a supermarket or passing by a store selling them? You wish! It is more probable that you remember you should have replaced the batteries right when you need the flashlight and are trying to switch it on. So, as David Allen puts it, noting down the tasks on your mind in a trusted place, will allow to clear your mind and reduce stress.
2. Anticipate and be proactive
At the end of the week I recommend you review the pending issues as well as your agenda for the next weeks. Then write down the tasks deriving from meetings you need to prepare and block time slots for this preparation work as well as for other projects or tasks that require a reserved block of time in your calendar.
That way you will disconnect well on the weekend, with a calm and clear mind.
3. Capture your ideas and thoughts instantly
Even though you followed the previous advice, something may have slipped your mind. There is nothing like leaving the office and walking some steps to remember something. Don’t worry. Have a notebook, writing pad or your phone at hand to note it down. If it is a work topic and in case you have separate lists for work-related and personal issues, I recommend setting a reminder for first thing next morning in order to add it to the corresponding task list or the agenda.
4. Get some fresh air
Go for a walk
Afer work, I suggest if you can, that you take a walk for at least 15 minutes (but the longer, the better), in order to clear your mind off the day’s work issues, off those things you have not had time to do, off the stress… If there is a park nearby, better yet because the connection to nature helps to relax. Breathe clean air, enjoy the colour of the grass and the trees, the birds singing… Those of us who live in the concrete jungles that are big cities, are surrounded by many stressful factors such as congestion of cars and people and pollution. At the risk of sounding like a hippie, escaping the hustle and bustle and entering nature, makes us re-connect with it and ourselves.
Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far. - Thomas Jefferson Click To Tweet
Do some sports
Another option is to do a physical activity which you like: running, swimming, aerobic, pilates, yoga, even taking some minutes for conscious and thorough stretching.
Physical activity is also a good way to connect with our body and thus with the present. Our mind tends to think about the past or the future, but rarely keeps still in the present, which can become a possible source of negative stress. If you have heard about Mindfulness, you might know what I am talking about. If not, I really recommend you read about the topic.
5. Avoid checking work e-mails
It has become a habit to install the work e-mail on mobile device to provide more flexibility for the job. However, how many people have configured the professional e-mail on their private mobile phones even though they have not been requested to do so. The other day, in the elevator, a colleague said: “Oh my… I received a notice of payment from a client yesterday midnight and I forwarded it immediately to the administration department.” My reaction was to ask him why he was checking his e-mails at those hours… and sending e-mails to other colleagues. Instead of using the new technology to our advantage and benefit, we have become or are becoming its slave. We should remember the phrase:
Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master. Christian Lous Lange. Click To Tweet
I think a false sense of duty has appeared which makes us work more instead of better, believing we have to be connected 24/7. Few of us work with companies in different time zones. So what is the justification? Even working with countries several time zones apart, I believe it is appropriate to remember if there really is a hot issue which requires checking the e-mail at all times. It has been demonstrated that to disconnect from work not only reduces stress but makes you more effective.
Apply these five simple tricks in your everyday life and you should notice the difference in your well-being. In addition, you may find more advice on how to disconnect from work at home here.
The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it. - Jim Goodwin, baseball player. Click To Tweet
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