fbpx

How To Turn Off Work

I just got off a call with a client and was discussing one of the biggest struggles in today’s work environment, which is learning how to separate your work life from your personal life.

Over the last five years as I transitioned from an athlete to entrepreneur, I had to learn how to begin setting my own schedule and be accountable to myself to avoiding working 24/7.

Now, as I mentioned, I am self employed, currently single, and do not have kids, which is very different than someone who is responsible to the demands of corporate life, married, and has three young children at home.

That’s not the point.

The point here is to make conscious decisions about how you handle your work life and personal life, and put some strategies in place so that you can set some boundaries in order for you to both work and live a life that is manageable and one that you are happy with.

In this video, I break down three simple techniques that you can start to implement today to begin separating your work life from your home life.

The three steps are:

  1. Create your ideal week
  2. Create your own punch cards
  3. Turn off notifications

As you think about the challenges of doing this, know that by creating a structure for your personal life as much as your work life, at minimum this will give you a framework to strive for versus just taking life on the fly. It will require you sitting down and feeling like it may be silly at first to bother, but it works.

Second, love the little things. Small ideas like post it notes are what make these mentally daunting tasks much more manageable. Everyone is looking for a hack… and this is a hack you can use.

Third, challenge your assumptions. Do you actually need to be available after 5pm, or do you just make yourself available out of guilt or the desire to impress others? Why do you always want to make yourself available? Would you really get in trouble if you chose to disconnect?

I know that when I was struggling with working 24/7 that by creating my Ideal Week I was able to set boundaries for myself and then convey that to others. It gave me a framework to know when I was getting off track and where I wanted to be as I pulled myself back on track.

The work/life balance sure seems like it’s something you need to get a handle on now since we are in this new world for a long haul.

Simply pop open an Excel sheet, grab a few post it notes, and get started.

You can begin taking control back – today.

Remps

Enjoyed this article? Here’s three more to help you succeed:

Become A Comeback Story During COVID-19

How To Manage Change Effectively

3 Quick Tips To Journal Effectively

Download your FREE copy of my autobiography, Still Standing: When You Have Every Reason to Give Up, Keep Going here.

Related Articles