Switching off after work

[fryingpan]

How do you guys just switch off and forget about work when you come home at night? Do you walk out the office at 5pm and not think about work until the next day? Or do you still think about work when you've knocked off?

I have serious trouble just switching off when I finish. There's so many things running through my head, what I could've done better, what I should've said to this client, what my boss will have to say about this ... etc etc etc ..

It's affecting me pretty badly .. the only time I don't think about work is saturday afternoon when I'm with mates drinking and watching the footy .. as soon as Sunday afternoon rolls around I'm thinking what I've got to do tomorrow, how I should go about it rah rah rah ..

I'm only young and I assume it will get better over time but what methods do you use to just switch off when you're done for the day? Any ideas would be great ..

 

[DapperDon]

Sounds like you need a holiday mate. I have the ability to switch off as soon as I exit the door, though sometimes I've dreamt about work when some things play on my mind, but it sounds like you're about to snap.

Take a break.

 

[Cynic]

I switch off during work at the moment.

 

[hamG]

Any ideas? Well you could get smashingly drunk after work.

Or enough exercise to hammer your brain with endorphins.

Or combine these two ideas, that'd be fun.

 

[ormond-allen]

Any of the following works for me:

1. A nice cool bevvy.

2. A session with the boxing bag.

3. A session with the gf

 

[vapid1]

my problem is the total opposite - I struggle to work hard and cannot switch on when at work.

I just cbf.

 

[Simon_Nesbit]

Any of the following works for me:

1. A nice cool bevvy.

2. A session with the boxing bag.

3. A session with the gf

Just beware, after regular #1, some people confuse #2 and #3.

 

[Simon_Nesbit]

Back when I was teaching, the teachers accomodation was all behind the school.

To get there we had to cross a small bridge.

All of the teachers had a mental 'bridge' to cross - we could bitch/moan/complain about anything until such time as we reached the bridge - but once we left the bridge, no-one was allowed to mention school issues.

I used to laugh at it, but as it became ingrained, I found I was doing it automatically.

...the point?

Find a routine, do something utterly mundane every afternoon/evening and use it as a metaphorical 'bridge' after which you don't allow yourself to think of work. If you need to, introduce a 'punishment' if you do. (penalty doesn't really matter, so long as it's something you don't enjoy).

Walk the dog, read the paper, bath the kids, bed the wife, wash the dishes, any of those daily chores that have to be done works well.

 

[ashley12]

Just beware, after regular #1, some people confuse #2 and #3.

They have sex with a boxing bag

 

[Rise_up_Stiffy]

I'm 23 and a teacher, and I struggle switching off as well. But it kinda goes with the job, always thinking what my lessons will be like tomorrow, what I have to mark, admin bullshit, etc etc..I wish had a job that was over as soon as I left the door! Holidays are fantastic though so can't complain too much.

 

[AG]

They have sex with a boxing bag

HAHAHAHAHA. Line of the week.

I start work in a two weeks but I found any type of exercise after Uni was easy to wind down. Go to the park and kick a footy around, anything like that. I don't live with my gf so option number 3 isn't always on the table.

 

[magic_johnson!]

HAHAHAHAHA. Line of the week.

I start work in a two weeks but I found any type of exercise after Uni was easy to wind down. Go to the park and kick a footy around, anything like that. I don't live with my gf so option number 3 isn't always on the table.

I'd like to think not

 

[AG]

I'd like to think not

Haha, poor word use.

 

[The Cranium]

How do you guys just switch off and forget about work when you come home at night? Do you walk out the office at 5pm and not think about work until the next day? Or do you still think about work when you've knocked off?

I have serious trouble just switching off when I finish. There's so many things running through my head, what I could've done better, what I should've said to this client, what my boss will have to say about this ... etc etc etc ..

It's affecting me pretty badly .. the only time I don't think about work is saturday afternoon when I'm with mates drinking and watching the footy .. as soon as Sunday afternoon rolls around I'm thinking what I've got to do tomorrow, how I should go about it rah rah rah ..

I'm only young and I assume it will get better over time but what methods do you use to just switch off when you're done for the day? Any ideas would be great ..

We work to live, not live to work, so you need to find a balance. I work in 8 week shifts and have 4 weeks off. As soon as I finish on that last day I memory dump everything and enjoy my time off....

 

[likka]

Do you worry about everything else to this extent to fryingpan, or just work?

My job is incredibly stressful and involves very long hours. I never really switch off completely, but things I do to wind down each day include:

- play with the kids
- talk to the wife
- occasionally soak in a hot bath (with or without wife)
- meditate
- read immersive fictional books
- watch a bit of tv
- exercise

 

[bigpapagman]

Smoke a cigarette.

 

[PowerKat]

Try to switch off before you leave. Spend the last 10mins of your day reflecting on the things you mentioned and make some notes about it and also what you're planning for the next day - a bit of a journal thing can work. Once you've written it down/typed it out, you don't have that 'need' to remember.

I switch off when I leave work by blasting some music in my car on the way home and when I get home, the equivalent of my 'bridge' is changing out of my work clothes.

Relaxing can be learnt - yoga for example can teach you to relax, or meditation. These things help you learn to clear your mind.

and, yeah you probably need a holiday (at least 2 weeks and go away somewhere).

 

[Ry009]

Punch one out?

 

[AG]

Punch one out?

Haha

 

[Jesse Custer]

Nothing beats a sex session straight after work.

 

[Gabbie]

I used to worry about work after the end of the day many years ago then thought "they're not paying me to get an ulcer" and soon it was a piece of cake - walk out that door and "work who??"...don't even think about it.

 

[Jesse Custer]

I used to worry about work after the end of the day many years ago then thought "they're not paying me to get an ulcer" and soon it was a piece of cake - walk out that door and "work who??"...don't even think about it.

True, although when i was a service mechanic i was always used to go home stressed. When working on brakes or fuel and you see a baby capsule or child seats in the back seat, i always stressed about making sure i did the job properly. Did i tighten this, or seal that. Otherwise if something did go wrong, not only am i risking people's lives, its the burden of having that on your conscious for the rest of your life, not to mention court crap. So, my point is depends on the job and everyone is different.

 

[The old campaigner]

Back when I was teaching, the teachers accomodation was all behind the school.

To get there we had to cross a small bridge.

All of the teachers had a mental 'bridge' to cross - we could bitch/moan/complain about anything until such time as we reached the bridge - but once we left the bridge, no-one was allowed to mention school issues.

I used to laugh at it, but as it became ingrained, I found I was doing it automatically.

...the point?

Find a routine, do something utterly mundane every afternoon/evening and use it as a metaphorical 'bridge' after which you don't allow yourself to think of work. If you need to, introduce a 'punishment' if you do. (penalty doesn't really matter, so long as it's something you don't enjoy).

Walk the dog, read the paper, bath the kids, bed the wife, wash the dishes, any of those daily chores that have to be done works well.

I totally agree with everything you say except categorising the highlighted as a mundane chore that you don't enjoy Simon.

 

[Simon_Nesbit]

....took long enough.

 

[raskolnikov]

My first year teaching all I thought about was work. I even dreamed about it and woke up in the middle of the night perspiring with some thought about work. As the years went on the amount of time I spent thinking about it diminished. These day I don't give work a second thought after leaving for the day.