Considering that most managers work in excess of forty hours each week, it’s no wonder that separating work life from your home life is such a challenge. How can anyone avoid mixing the stresses of one with the other? No one wants to take a tough day at work home to his family or vice versa, and yet so many of us do. So, let’s take a look at some techniques to help you compartmentalize your working life from the one you spend at home to make life much easier to navigate:
Keep Your Personal Life Private
The first step towards separating your home life from your work life is to keep them completely separate. This means you should avoid talking about personal things, such as your relationships, political and religious views, social media accounts, your medical situations, and so on. While this doesn’t mean you can’t be sociable, these subjects should be rarely if ever discussed. This extends towards making off-color jokes or gossiping too. You may end up forming friendships with coworkers, but keep everything professional when you’re on the clock.
Stop Checking Your Phone at Home
When you’re making time for yourself or your friends and loved ones, try to disconnect from work. This means silencing notifications and ignoring email. While this isn’t always possible, especially around a deadline or when you’re leaving a new employee alone for the first time, disconnecting should be your standard operating procedure. Remember this truism: your phone exists for your convenience, not others’. Where you can, delegate. Make sure your staff is well trained, and then trust them to hold the fort while you’re away.
Connect with Friends and Loved Ones
Take time to develop your relationships with friends and family. Even beyond silencing your phone, this means actually scheduling time with the people who matter most in your life. Perhaps that’s something as simple as a movie night, or an afternoon doing yardwork together, attending a social function, etc. And while you’re off, don’t discuss work outside of work, even with friends who are also coworkers.
Take Time for Yourself
Don’t forget to take some personal time for yourself, too. Whether it’s meditation, going for walks, or anything else, schedule time for just you. Even the most gregarious people need a break now and again, and you should make sure you take those breaks when you can. Pick up a hobby, like photography, fishing, or playing an instrument. Don’t overcommit yourself between your work and home lives, otherwise you’ll become embittered towards one or both.
Never Stop Learning
These points represent a great place to start, but you should never stop striving to improve. The Brandt Group is proud to sponsor nationally acclaimed speaker Steve Beck on October 16, 2019, at the Best Western Plus GranTree Inn. Steve will be covering everything from the importance of having a great day every day to an Army Ranger technique for getting through tough days. Learn about communication and the importance of information sharing, as well as the essential steps to improve productivity. If you’re going to be in the Bozeman, MT, area that day, we would love if you and your employees would join us. There’s going to be something for everybody!
Call us at (406) 586–3036 to get registered today!
