Here's how you can rejuvenate during personal time and detach from work.

Imagine this: In the middle of your hectic life, there's a peaceful spot at home, like a cozy reading nook or a balcony with a great view, or a lighted corner where you can recharge your positive energy. Come to this place with an open mind and a kind heart. Just picture yourself relaxing and taking deep breaths, enjoying and focussing on the soothing smells of fresh air, candles, or flowers. With a few minutes of mindful break, you have now recharged yourself and are prepared to tackle work and life with a fresh perspective. Take a moment to unwind!

Rejuvenating during personal time and detaching from work is essential for maintaining balance and well-being. Creating space is key. Here’s how: Set clear boundaries between work and personal time. Designate specific times and physical spaces for work and relaxation. When you finish work, take a few moments to transition: close your laptop, tidy your workspace, and mentally acknowledge the end of your workday. Engage in activities that bring you joy and relaxation, such as hobbies, exercise, or spending time with loved ones. Practice mindfulness techniques like meditation or deep breathing to help shift your focus away from work. Disconnect from work emails and notifications to create a clear separation.

Creating space to be detached from work can be a time to reflect. Having a routine of going for an after-dinner walk or visiting with friends gives distance from the laptop and the work environment it creates. For some, it is impossible to detach totally as they have a role supporting crises at 24-hour operating facilities; however, space can be built in. Try not to have your lunch at your workspace; give yourself a short detachment from the work environment to recharge for the afternoon.

Start by creating a clear boundary between work and personal time; physically leaving your workspace or turning off work-related notifications can help signal the end of the workday. Embrace activities that bring you joy and relaxation, such as reading a good book, practicing a hobby, or spending time in nature. Mindfulness practices like meditation or deep-breathing exercises can also be incredibly effective in helping you stay present and reduce stress. Also, engaging in physical activities, whether it's a gentle yoga session or a brisk walk, can boost your mood and energy levels. Remember to prioritize quality time with loved ones and savor those moments without distractions.

“Embracing compartmentalization has been transformative for my work-life balance. By allocating specific times for work, family, and personal activities, I’ve created clear boundaries that help me stay focused and present in each aspect of my life. This approach allows me to dedicate my full attention to the task or people at hand, reducing stress and enhancing overall productivity and satisfaction. It’s like having an organized set of drawers in my mind, where each drawer is opened only when needed, ensuring that work doesn’t spill over into personal time and vice versa. It’s a simple yet powerful way to keep life’s many roles in harmony.”

Tara: "You seem to seamlessly switch off after work. How do you manage such a healthy work-life balance?" Shivangi: "Mindfulness, Tara! I reflected on my job dynamics, company culture, work ethics and personal values through meditation and journaling. This helped me set boundaries aligned with my priorities." Tara: "So, planning your schedule involves mindfulness?" Shivangi: "Absolutely! Journaling helped me be more intentional, track my energy and create a balanced schedule. But there's flexibility – I am aware, empathetic and assertive.” Tara: "Mindful relationships at work too, then?" Shivangi: "Exactly! Active listening and clear communication minimize stress. This keeps me calm and focused, fostering a positive work & life space."

I feel like the more time I dedicate to activities that restore my energy, ground me, and clear my mind—like swimming or yoga—the more productive I become in my work. I value my time and worth, so I make sure to protect it. Ironically, when I set boundaries and choose to detach or surrender, letting work "just be", opportunities and people seem to appear out of the blue. It's as if investing in my well-being invites abundance into my life!

Setting boundaries isn't just about setting boundaries around our work - e.g. when we'll stop work. It's also being very clear about the boundaries we put around our personal and rest time. There's a tendency for us to let work commitments leak into our personal time. For example, we think, "I'll reschedule that family outing to another week so I can fit this work thing in" rather than to stay firm with our boundaries and commitments to the other things that are important in the rest of our life. Be intentional about scheduling in your personal time/activities and set firm boundaries around those too. Honour those 'appointments' with yourself as sacred - because they are!

Setting boundaries is important to establish a clear line between work and personal life. If you have a work phone, it can be even more difficult! I recommend that when you shut down your laptop, you also keep your work phone in your home office or in a drawer so that you won't be tempted to check it (either out of habit or boredom). I have found this to be very effective in my own life!

Konzentration und Fokus erscheinen in der aktuellen Zeit als zerrinnendes Gut. Das Gefühl etwas nicht mitzubekommen, nicht mithalten mit dem Tempo der anderen, treibt uns meiner Erfahrung nach so h?ufig in eine ungesunde Zerstreutheit. Das Lernen von Konzentration und das Lenken der Aufmerksamkeit auf ein Objekt, sind entscheidende Faktoren, um wieder das Gefühl zu erlangen, freudig und mit allem was wir sind und k?nnen, Dinge zu tun. Dies wiederum führt meiner Meinung nach dazu, dass wir nicht ausbrennen und Klarheit über unsere Grenzen haben.

A big part of the exhaustion we feel comes from not letting ourselves fully switch off. When we're 'relaxing', we're actually still thinking about that last email, planning tomorrow's to do lists, trying to solve a problem at work. That means we're not really relaxing! Resting properly is resting intentionally - which is to be very deliberate about *only* doing the relaxing activity that we've decided to do. If you're reading that book, ONLY read that book. If you're spending time with your family, give them 100% of your attention and energy.

When we fully engage in everything we do and stay mindful of the present moment, we can significantly improve our performance, whether it's at work or in sports. It's very helpful to find activities that completely absorb your attention, so you can't think about anything else while doing them. For me, this is paddle and netball. On the other hand, I can easily get distracted with other thoughts while reading.

Our brains form the best memories when we are using as many of our five senses as possible. This means putting down the phone and viewing things with our own eyes, hearing sounds with our own ears. Resist the urge to photo/video document your free time or family activities and instead work on experiencing them fully. This will help set some precious memories for the future.

I believe that the most powerful tool that exists in mindfulness is cultivating gratitude. This energy that arises from the heart is the basis of almost all the teachings I have received and manifests itself in a subtle way when cultivated daily by diluting toxic thoughts and emotions. It is easy to connect with pain, frustration, incapacity... its antidote, although it may seem fragile, is very powerful. Connect with the emotion of gratitude. Start with something simple during the day and feel the effect, for example a smile, affection, a meal or even that beat of your heart that never rests. Feel it and use it as an antidote

Gratitude isn't just a wishy-washy practice of posting #blessed selfies. It is a deeply effective practice of recognising and appreciating all that we are glad for and intentionally celebrating those things. When we pay deliberate attention to the things that are going well and appreciate them, this primes parts of our brain to 'remember' these events and to then look for more of the same. Gratitude practices literally strengthen neural pathways in our brains to support us to seek out, recognise and act on other opportunities to create even more things to be grateful for! This energy of appreciation and celebration naturally spills into our work lives too, generating even more possibilities and opportunities to be grateful for!

I believe gratitude is one of the most important practices. We tend to focus on what we don’t have rather than what we do have, and this can be exhausting and greatly affect our quality of life. When we incorporate gratitude into our daily mindfulness practice, it shifts our focus to the positive side. When we focus on positive things, we can easily create more positivity.

If you are not sure a gratitude practice is helpful, try this experiment. Imagine a situation that frustrates you or makes you feel impatient. Then notice the effects that has on your body. Where do you get tense? How does your breathing change? Then imagine something you feel grateful for. How does your body respond now? Do things relax? Does breathing get calmer? The brain-body connection is powerful and gratitude helps both our mental and physical health.

Taking time out to develop and deepen other interests contributes to what is known as creative rest which can be so rejuvenating and nourishing for our minds. It offers our brains rest from the strain of usual demands at work, while still offering us opportunities to engage playfully with something that is stimulating, playful and pleasurable. We can literally give ourselves permission to pursue pleasure for pleasure's sake, knowing that it's often one of the most healthful things we can do for our mental wellbeing. (And as an extra bonus, finding restful but enjoyable activity outside of work ultimately also enhances the creative capacities and energy levels that we can bring back to our work. It's a win win!)

Taking up new hobbies or picking up old ones again can be a great way to take a break from work and enjoy learning. Hobbies, whether they be painting, playing an instrument, or gardening, offer a creative outlet that uplifts the spirit and challenges the intellect. When you immerse yourself in these pursuits, work-related thoughts will inevitably recede, providing you with ample opportunity to rejuvenate.

If you are having trouble detaching from work, try immersing yourself in a new hobby. Using the creative side of the brain can help to give the analytical side of the brain a break. And the creativity can stimulate your spirit and refresh your energy, leaving the work dramas for another day.

To protect my personal time, I start and end each day with a mindful reflection. Starting my day: - What's on the task list? - If I cannot reasonably finish it all on time, is there anything that can be moved to tomorrow or rescheduled? - If I finish today's tasks, what will tomorrow look like? Ending my day: - What tasks have I completed? - What tasks are in progress? To complete them, what do I need to do tomorrow / the rest of the week? - What is on the agenda for tomorrow? By starting and ending each day with a clear understanding of what's ahead and what's left to do, I'm able to leave work at work.

In my experience when work-life boundaries are blurred given many of us have even physical space that is used for both, and also both are integrated it's important to learn to mentally switch off from Work, and for that one can - Keep a schedule - for work and life, and follow it mindfully, in personal time, the mind is still caught up with work then it's in a way work time only, find a few activities( Daily/weekly) that can help to nourish and switch off the mind from working, by engaging all senses with the activities - Have goals besides work goals too - like learning a new musical instrument or time in nature/travel, meeting friends with common interests, - rituals for wellbeing - exercise, meditation, gratitude and reflection

Unplug to Unwind. Personal time isn't truly personal if your work phone is buzzing. Disconnecting allows you to be fully present in the moment, whether it's spending time with loved ones, pursuing hobbies, or simply relaxing. This mindful break from technology fosters genuine rejuvenation, leaving you refreshed and ready to conquer your work with focus and clarity.