So you are on the commute home, and your mind is filled with the day’s activities…. Suddenly you become overwhelmed with all the things you have forgotten to do, things you still have to do tomorrow, and a million thoughts about what Your colleague said to you that really bothered you…. Sound familiar?
You arrive home, walk through the door…. And you suddenly realize you can’t remember your trip home! You hope and pray you didn’t run any red lights… But it almost feels like you teleported home! This is what happens when we are not being mindful…. We are on autopilot… And we are stuck in out thoughts unable to absorb any of the present around us.
So…. How do you leave it behind you?
1. Start a pack down routine. Pick a set of behaviours that you do each day like lock filing cabinet, shutdown computer, switch off the light etc…it helps to give you a sense of packing away the day that has past…
2. Self talk can be a really powerful weapon to help you process your day. Talking out loud helps you process the billion thoughts that are aimlessly running around your mind.
3. Pick a point in your journey where you allow yourself to think about work until that point. It may be a landmark, a train station, a particular street… Then once you reach that point you start focusing on what is ahead of you…. Dinner, home, to etc…
4. Use mindfulness to help you come out of your head, and into your body. What is it that you can see, hear and feel around you. This is extremely helpful to ensure you don’t get stuck in your thoughts.
I would really like to hear from others about how they leave work behind… I hope these are useful and help people start to take control of their work life balance!
