How To Disconnect From Work

The first thing to keep in mind is the need to establish concrete boundaries between work and home. Regardless of whether the work can be virtual or in-person, it is important to use some tactics that help:

• Create precise routines: Carrying out a routine that involves differentiating spaces is essential. In this sense, activities that vary at work and home should be placed. As an example, a person can change their clothing to feel like they are already out of work hours.
• Disconnect from technological devices: Electronic devices are a source of overload for anyone, since they impose certain stimuli that are difficult to avoid. Therefore, one of the variables that must be taken into consideration is removing notifications from emails, text messages, calls, among others. In this way, the worries remain at work.
• Perform personal leisure activities: Having moments of enjoyment is transcendental for daily life, since it allows you to pass through time in a more relaxed way. When you get home from work, you can choose to cook, watch a movie or series, draw, among others.

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When the sun goes down, the worries of the day can resurface. However, this condition implies certain inconveniences that can affect the person. Therefore, we will talk about how to disconnect from work at night:

• Perform specific routines in bed: Before going to sleep, it is important to practice some exercise that relaxes the mind and body. Meditation, mindfulness and yoga have routines that can be adapted to anyone, providing an improvement in the quality of sleep.
• Turn off your electronic devices: Both cell phones and computers are a source of distraction and nervousness, since they activate the central nervous system. This becomes evident at night and can disrupt rest. To avoid any information related to work, it is advisable to restrict contact with virtuality.
• read a book: one of the moments that takes value in a person’s routine is that which is dedicated to reading. To do this, it is pertinent to read books, articles or any other material that is a distraction from work.

When it’s time to take a break from all your weekly obligations, it can be difficult to ignore pending issues. However, there are solutions to have more restful days. Next, we will describe how to disconnect from work on the weekend:

• Do activities outside the usual places: since the weekend usually covers days with a longer range of time, it is advisable to go to places that are an escape from the routine. In this way, the person feels disconnected from all the activities that remind them of work. Examples of this are visiting friends, going to parks, going to the movies, among others.
• Socialize: making new contacts is essential to live with greater openness to the new that arises. In this way, going to social spaces helps to relax from weekly stress and can improve self-esteem. To do this, you can choose to do group sports, go to nightclubs, go to debate groups, among others.

Taking a break from work helps you recharge your batteries and return to activities with a different perspective. So that there are no major problems, it is possible to resort to specific strategies. In this section we will point out how to disconnect from work on vacation:

• Use technology wisely: During rest periods it is normal to record videos or take some photographs to keep as a souvenir. However, if you want to completely disconnect from work, it is important to avoid the constant use of electronic devices so as not to generate emotional dependency. One of the most viable options is to impose schedules of use of the mobile device or deactivate notifications.
• Avoid conversations about work: Despite being on vacation, it is worth limiting the topic of work. Otherwise, the person may relive worries that cause discomfort. Given this, it is preferable to appeal to conversations referring to other areas of life.
• Set limits: If someone wants to contact you to talk about work issues that are not urgent during your vacation, it is important to let them know that this is a period to rest. Therefore, remember to avoid answering phone messages or leaving an automated response when you are out of the office or outside of your work hours.

Beyond all the resources described in the previous paragraphs, it is illuminating to understand why it is important to disconnect from work. We explain it to you below:

• Avoid major frustrations: Workloads can be difficult to cope with. If there is no disconnection from work, there are risks that the person will release frustrations, discomfort and anxieties on those around them.
• Improves mental health: Worries usually decrease when the connection with work is interrupted. Likewise, the person has higher energy levels to carry out leisure activities without getting tired. In turn, tolerance to frustration increases significantly.
• Prevents physical health problems: the body can be affected if the person does not disconnect from work. This is reflected in the diet you follow and the sleep hygiene you adopt. Furthermore, serious illnesses are prevented.

This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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