After a day of running between meeting rooms, your office and your colleagues’ offices, all you want to do is decompress and take your mind off things. But between household chores and thoughts of work running around in a loop, relaxing after a stressful day is easier said than done… So how do you relax after work without going through a nervous breakdown?
You can start by reading the rest of this article; it’s already a great way to fight stress naturally! You’ll learn from our 4 tips on how to get off work, unwind after work and several ideas for activities to relax or recharge. So take a deep breath and follow the guide!
1. Exercise your right to disconnect
This first piece of advice may seem obvious, but you may not be doing it! How many times have you turned your computer back on after getting home? If you often say to yourself: “I can’t get off work, I don’t understand”, the first thing to do is to disconnect! Say goodbye to emails, calls and laptops. Cut any link that might remind you of work!
In fact, according to a 2014 study, more than 2 out of 3 executives fall back into their work at home in the evening. Yet, since January 2017, companies have been legally required to have an agreement or charter on the right to disconnect for their employees. So don’t hesitate to talk to your manager if you feel your work-life balance is being violated. For a complete disconnect, you might even consider deleting personal digital solicitations. Instagram, Facebook, and other YouTube may not be the best activity for a good rest after work.
2. Clear your head after work
“Okay, I turned off my work phone. But work-related thoughts keep running through my mind… How do I unplug from work for good in this case?” What if you literally signalled to your brain that the end of the workday is here and it’s time to move on? To do that, here are some ideas to try out to take your mind off work:
- Write to clear your head. Take stock of the day that has just gone by: what went well, what went badly? What can you learn from it? If you feel like you’re brooding, try to focus on the events that make you smile, no matter how trivial.
- Discuss your day with your loved ones. Sometimes taking a moment to talk about your day and get an outside perspective can help you step back and stop dwelling on your thoughts.
- Prepare for the next day. To avoid having your work tasks spinning around in your head like a broken record, why not prepare your to-do list and organize it the next day before leaving work?
3. Set up a routine to separate your private life from your professional life and get away from work
When leaving the office at the end of the day, try to find a way to cut out the workday. Listen to a podcast in the car or read a book in transit to stop thinking about work. When you get home, continue the little disconnection routine! Change into comfortable clothes, put on your slippers and go into cocooning mode.
This should help your brain realize that it’s time to relax! If you’ve been staying at home to work, separating your work and personal life becomes a bit of a personal challenge. If you can, get out of the house to go to the gym, run some errands or take a short walk.
Leaving your “office” and coming back home afterwards should help you relax from your daily routine and stop thinking about work. If you can’t get out, try to move your body with an activity where you are not sitting. A workout, yoga, or even tidying up or cleaning should help you cut through the hassle of work.
4. Playing sports to unwind after work
Do you have the energy to spare and want to let off steam? Why not move your body and sweat a little? The benefits of sport are well known: secretion of endorphins, improvement of sleep quality, and fight against the harmful effects of sedentary life. So choose your favorite physical activity: running, swimming, fitness, biking or even walking and get rid of the stress of the day. Be careful, however, not to do any intense physical exercise in the 3 hours before your usual bedtime. This can degrade the quality of your sleep.
Sound off in the comments section below and tell us what you want to read next and if you want to read more about destressing after work.
