Whether your work days are spent in an office building or from your home office we all need to switch our minds off after work and take some time to take care of ourselves. Call it ‘work-life balance’ or ‘self care’, you need to unwind in the evening to ensure you’re not neglecting yourself and to avoid any emotional, mental or physical burnouts.
Unwinding looks different for everybody, but we can all start at the same point, that is by reflecting. Give yourself a few minutes to think and jot down what you tend to do after you’re done with work for the day. Figure out which of these habits are of value to you, and where in this pattern could you change things around to take better care of yourself. Also, consider what a realistic amount of time is for you to take out from your evening purely for yourself.
An incredibly important thing to do is to commit to leaving work at work, which is far easier said than done, only once you actively leave thoughts of work once you’re off the clock will you be able to fully benefit from these ideas.
A few ideas for what you could do during this time, depending on how much available time you have:
● Meditating
● Yoga or even doing just some stretches
● Exercising
● Taking up a hobby
● Having a chat with your support network
● Listening to a podcast or audiobook
● Reading
● Journaling / writing
● Listening to music
● Going for a walk
● Cooking
● Skincare
● A cosy bath or invigorating shower
Once you know what you would like to do during the time you have to yourself, try to develop an after-work evening routine which incorporates this, doing so will help you adhere to these activities and make it more realistic to achieve regularly (if not daily).
Next, reflect on your personal space, is it relaxing, serene, calming? If it’s not exuding this feeling, then think about what you need to add or remove from your space to make it a better space for you. Clutter can make a space feel cramped and stress us out mentally. Take the time to tidy up and free up some of that physical and mental space. This designated personal relaxation spot can be a room in your house, or even a little section in your room.
If making time for additional relaxing activities or creating a serene space in your house doesn’t seem feasible, there is one more way to help yourself unwind – switching off your tech. We’re all so used to being on our phones, laptops, or some other screen, constantly connected to the internet and consuming content and media, whether its Instagram, Netflix or your inbox. Enforce a time that you will switch off your tech to disconnect from the world and take time just for yourself. Allow some time before you go to sleep where you’re not in front of a screen, take this time to reconnect with yourself and the physical world around you. Taking this time off tech before bed should also improve your quality of sleep.
Whether you’re able to incorporate more than one way to unwind after work, or you’re only able to do one thing for yourself in the evening, do allow yourself the time to think about what would be beneficial to your evening routine and work towards giving yourself time to relax everyday, even if only for a few minutes.