4 Rules For Quickly Disconnecting After Hours To Keep Work Out Of Your Home Life

Adults employed full-time typically “work” an average of 45-50 hours each week. I say the term “work” in quotes because we spend so much additional time outside of the typical 9-to-5 thinking about work, checking and sending after-hour emails, and responding to texts or phone calls. This makes shutting off our “work brains” when we leave office feel nearly impossible. But it is possible.

Here are four quick ways to disconnect from work outside the 9-to-5 for happier, more balanced evenings and weekends.

1. Allow yourself five minutes at dinner to talk about work.

You get home from a long day and your mind can’t stop thinking about all of those projects, looming deadlines, and how Don in marketing is an asshat. You just spent 8, 10, or even 12 hours at the office — it’s normal for your mind to be hyperfocused on your work. So keep your mind on work, but only for the first five minutes of your dinner conversation. Share the events of your workday with your significant other, housemate, friends, or family. Or, if you’re eating alone (often my favorite kind of eating), write about it.

It’s easy to get consumed with our work and feel the urge to rant on and on. The focus is to reflect on work — the highs and the lows — and then move on to socializing and most importantly, eating!

Continue reading on The Financial Diet...

***

Caffeinate your inbox (sign up for my newsletter) at CaffeinatedKyle.com.