Removing the stress from taking time off: How to switch off when work is busy
Shannen Pollard,
Marketing & Community Manager at flexa
Switching off from work can, paradoxically, be incredibly stressful. This is especially true for those working high-demand jobs in fast-paced environments where work never sleeps. It’s often difficult to turn off our work brain, making it easy for those pesky, intrusive thoughts to sneak home with us and form a chorus inside our heads.
We’re always being told to “switch off” and “wind down”, but how exactly? It’s not as simple as just flicking a switch. A lot of the time, the inability to relax stems from feelings of anxiety and guilt.
We’ve all felt it. Whether we’re on annual leave, off sick, taking a half day or finishing our shift, we can’t help but feel guilty and worry that we’ve forgotten to do a task, that something will go wrong, or that we’ve left our colleagues “in the lurch.”
First and foremost, these feelings are normal and the majority of us experience them on a regular basis. The key is to tap into these feelings, try to understand their root causes, and begin to accept them as part of the process of altering our state of mind.
Again, this is all easier said than done and our experiences are all unique. Some of us will find it harder than others, and, while certain techniques may work for one person, that same thing may not work for another. Below, we’ve listed our top tips for tackling those intrusive thoughts and switching off when you need to.
1. Disconnect
When you leave the workplace, it’s important to fully detach yourself and set healthy boundaries that work for you.
> Handover
If you’re finishing a shift or going away for a few days, make sure you’ve completed a full handover and included as much detail as possible to avoid anyone needing to contact you. During the lead up to your absence, keep a note of important points, events, tasks and reminders and hand this over. Writing things down as you go will mean you don’t have to spend ages recapping your day or week, trying to remember everything for the person stepping in.
> Out of Office
Whatever your main method of communication is, make sure you let everyone who needs to know that you’ll no longer be available. Before you leave, pop a message in your communication channels or send an email around to your colleagues, and set an automated ‘out of office’ message. Let your contacts know that you’re away, and who to contact in your absence and when you’ll next be available.
> Pause Notifications
There’s nothing worse than having your downtime interrupted by a dreaded notification ping or calendar reminder. When you’re done for the day, remember to switch off your notifications. If you need to have certain alerts on, access your settings to adjust your notification preferences and silence anything that doesn’t require your attention.
> Leave it all behind
If you’re the owner of a company laptop or mobile device, leave it behind if you can. If you don’t need to take them home with you, shut them in your office, your desk drawer or your locker. Leaving them at the office will reduce your temptation to check them! This applies to any work-related items. If applicable, you could even change out of your uniform before you go!
2. Alter your mindset
When you’ve finished work for the day, especially if it’s been a particularly long one, you can help draw yourself out from work mode by exposing yourself to different sights, smells, experiences and surroundings in order to shift your mindset and recover from the day you’ve had.
> Compartmentalise
This is something we do naturally, but that doesn’t always mean we do it well. Compartmentalising our lives can work wonders when it comes to reducing stress.
A great way to do this is by creating an “end of work” routine. Ever heard of the “Doorway Effect”? Studies indicate that walking through doorways is an “event boundary” of sorts and a way for your brain to process a task and file it away as “done.” Daily rituals help to subconsciously divide our experiences and compartmentalise our minds, making it easier to transition from one “episode” to the next.
Your methods of compartmentalisation are completely up to you, but some examples include:
Driving home
Walking the dog
Going for a run
Working out
Yoga
Taking a shower
Eating a meal
3. Don’t discuss work
This one is tricky, our careers make up a significant part of who we are and sometimes we have to talk about work or simply can’t help it. If you’ve had a tough day and need to vent about it, then we support this. Talking is good and bottling things up isn’t.
But if you’re someone who’s going home or out for dinner and continuously talking about work, then all that chatter is going to flood your mind with responsibilities and negative work-related thoughts.
During your free time, make the effort to focus on other things and instead, try talking about your upcoming plans, hobbies or anything else that’s not based around your job. It’s also okay to set boundaries with people. If a friend asks you how your day was, it’s perfectly okay to answer with something along the lines of, “good thanks, but I’d rather not talk about it right now” or if you’re not yet comfortable being so upfront, feel free to give a short answer before asking about their day or moving onto another topic altogether.
4. Make plans
Making plans, whether on your own, with family or with friends, is a great way to unwind, and it technically falls under the compartmentalisation method.
First and foremost, planned events are something for us to look forward to. Whether you’re meeting at the pub after your shift, going for a family day out at the weekend, or travelling abroad for a holiday, it’s never a bad idea to get yourself pumped for some fun and relaxation.
These activities allow us to blow off some steam and take our minds off of work. Spending time with other people is also a great way to avoid checking your mobile devices every few minutes and gives you space to switch off without any distractions.
5. Tackle anxiety head on
One way to tackle anxiety is by acknowledging it and taking steps to fight against it. Although facing anxiety often means putting ourselves outside of our comfort zones, remember to be gentle with yourself and only do something if you feel safe doing so.
“Every time your fear is invited up, every time you recognize it and smile at it, your fear will lose some of its strength.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
If you find yourself getting worried or panicky about work, acknowledge your feelings and then try to immerse yourself into an activity that will help dissolve them.
> Exercise
Exercise taps into our natural “fight or flight” response and is a great way to release excess nerves and tension. Exercise releases endorphins, such as dopamine and serotonin. These decrease tension levels, act as natural painkillers, improve your ability to sleep, elevate and stabilise your mood, and improve self-esteem. Even just five minutes of aerobic exercise can begin to stimulate anti-anxiety effects.
> Mindfulness
Meditation, breathwork and mindfulness techniques are particularly effective if the anxiety you’re experiencing is milder. Although we’re often made to feel that meditation is something you can only do with correct experience, that isn’t the case and it’s not something you should feel intimidated by. It’s also not the practice of emptying your mind. It’s actually about experiencing the present moment in its entirety and acknowledging your thoughts and feelings.
If you’re a beginner or prefer to be coached, you can find a multitude of guided meditations and breathwork sessions on Youtube, mindfulness apps or via other online platforms and resources.
> Yoga
Whether you join a class or practice at home, Yoga can help you address your anxiety in a healthy way. Instead of being asked to rationalise your way out of an anxious state, you’re instead being given tools that help you recognise the thoughts, feelings and actions that lead to your heightened anxiety. Yoga allows you to enact effective self-soothing methods and unconsciously learn to regulate your stress response and build up a resilience to stress.
> CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
CBT is based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are all interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious cycle.
This method of therapy can be practiced at home or with a specialist practitioner, and aims to help you deal with overwhelming problems in a more positive way by breaking them down into smaller parts. You're then shown how to change these negative patterns to improve the way you feel.
Unlike some other talking treatments, CBT deals with your current problems and looks for practical ways to improve your state of mind on a daily basis. Your GP will be able to recommend any local or online services to you, or you can find many books, guides and resources in-store, in your local library or online.
> Hobbies
Taking up a hobby is a great way to ease anxiety or stress. It gives you something enjoyable to focus your attention on, which will take your mind off anything negative that you may be experiencing. Pleasurable pastimes can be a good way to calm down an overactive mind, alleviate anxiety and lower panic symptoms.
If you haven’t already got something in mind, discovering a hobby that you enjoy can be trial and error, and while your friend might enjoy sewing and encourage you to get involved, it just might not be your ‘thing’. Be patient, make a list of things you think you’ll enjoy and have fun trying them out to see which suits you best!
6. Make time to relax
Taking all of the above points into account, be sure to make time for yourself in order to relax, unwind and recharge. Relaxing can be difficult enough, without having to tackle any unwanted, intrusive work-related thoughts, which is why we left this tip until last.
We all define relaxation differently, but whatever it is you prefer to do, make sure you’ve set some time aside in order to enjoy it. Let others know that you’re busy between the times of A and B, set clear boundaries with those you’re sharing a household with, and enjoy the process of setting up your activity or the space in which you’ll be enjoying it.
Your chosen activity could quite literally be anything you want, such as taking a hot bath; reading a book; watching your favourite movie; gaming; listening to music; playing an instrument; cooking; painting; gardening; knitting; jogging; the list goes on! Some people even find cleaning relaxing.
The important thing is that you make time to actually do it.
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Allow yourself to enjoy the things you love - you deserve to!
We hope you found all of our tips and advice helpful. Remember, you don’t need to follow it to the letter, but if you need to, feel free to use it as a guide in order to establish your own preferred methods of switching off and winding down.
Ultimately, it’s about setting clear boundaries for yourself and communicating those with the people you live, work and spend time with.
If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s that we should make time for the things we enjoy and we deserve to. Work may make up a large portion of our lives, but it’s not who we are and it doesn’t complete us.
Grant yourself permission. Make time to be yourself and indulge in the things you love, but most of all, allow yourself to enjoy it!
Here’s to a happy and healthy 2022!