3 Top Tips to Help You Turn Off When Working From Home

[AD] This post is for a paid partnership.

Over the past year, working from home has become the normal way of living for many people across the UK. Whilst working from home definitely has its benefits, it can make it far more difficult to establish clear boundaries between work and play. When your office doubles as the kitchen table, it’s not so easy to switch off from work. With this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of top tips that can help you switch your brain from work to play, allowing you to get the well-earned rest you deserve after the full day at work. 

Top Tip #1 – Ditch the PJs

As tempting as it may be to embrace the pyjama life whilst you’re working from your newly revamped home office, this can make it really difficult to separate your work day from your free time. We dress for the occasion, so if you’re dressed for bed, your mind is thinking about sleep. 

So take the time to get dressed for your job in the morning, whether this is a full suit or jeans and a t-shirt. This will set your mind to work mode and allow you to be efficient throughout the day. The full benefit of this comes later though, when you finish your work day by throwing on your comfy clothes. 

Once you switch from your work gear to your PJs or joggers, your mind will associate this with your free time as opposed to your time on the clock. Our recommendation for a full switch off is whipping out the bed socks. Nothing screams relaxation more than a comfy pair of bed socks. 

Top Tip #2 – Don’t link your phone to work

For ease, many of us have our work emails and messaging platforms linked to our personal phones. Whilst this can be really useful during work hours, it becomes an annoyance once the clock chimes 5pm. 

To help your work-life balance, avoid linking your work emails and messaging platforms to your personal phone. This way, you won’t be tempted to hop onto a five-minute task which ends up stealing an hour and a half of your evening. 

If you absolutely have to link your phone with your work tools, just ensure your notifications are turned off for those apps. Nothing ruins a relaxing evening ambience like an unwelcome ping of your phone. 

Top Tip #3 – Limit work chat at home

If you’ve had a hard day at work, chatting (or ranting) about it to your partner, family or a friend can help you get it all off of your chest. However, you should avoid letting work become the dominant conversation topic around the dinner table. 

By limiting your work chat at home, you’re helping your brain to switch off and relax rather than remaining consumed with to-dos from work. Avoid letting work drama dominate your evenings, otherwise, you’ll head to work the next day with a negative attitude, and feeling like you haven’t had a break. 

The Bottom Line

The true key to success when you’re trying to switch off after working from home comes with setting boundaries. Mark your boundaries with a meal, an outfit, a podcast, a book or an activity. This prevents your tasks from running straight through into the late evening, giving you a chance to recuperate for the next day ahead. 

Until next time.