Most of us are more than happy when 5pm rolls around. But for some reason known best to them, our minds aren’t always as keen to down tools.

Most of us are more than happy when 5pm rolls around. But for some reason known best to them, our minds aren’t always as keen to down tools. I often find mine mulling over work stuff long after the rest of me is slumped on the lounge at home.

It’s the kind of stuff that wakes me at 3am. Or causes my wife’s eyes to glaze over as I recount what a dick-head Denise from accounts is. But I recently discovered a way to switch my mind from work mode to home mode before I step through my front door.

1. Having finished your work, tidy your desk and write a to-do list for the next day. It keeps your mind from having to put it together at 3am. “No shit Sherlock” I hear you say, but wait, there’s more.

2. When you’re nearly home, stop. Find somewhere you can sit – a neighbour’s front fence works for me – plant your feet flat, close your eyes and breathe deeply and slowly for five minutes. Just focus on that breathing. It’s only five minutes but it’s incredibly calming. Those 300 seconds are your official ‘work’s finished whistle’ for your overwound mind.

It couldn’t be easier, and it couldn’t be more important.

The renowned Harvard Business Review also has a few ideas on how best not ‘to take work home’:

https://hbr.org/2017/11/how-to-let-go-at-the-end-of-the-workday

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