How To Reduce Exhaustion At The End Of Your Work Day
When your spouse asks you if you want to go out to dinner at a restaurant, and you say “no” because you are too tired from your work day, you might find yourself in another argument about your business being more important than your spouse.
The real reason you're too tired to go out
If you’ve experienced this before…I’d be willing to bet you actually did want to go out to dinner.
You said “no” because you felt tired from your work day, and that’s ok, there’s no shame in that, but there’s a difference between being physically tired and mentally tired.
I’d argue you were more mentally tired at this moment because you didn’t transition your mindset from work to your personal life. It’s exhausting to be straddling both worlds!
How to get yourself to go out at the end of your work day
If this situation comes up again in the future, there is a way for you to get all the energy you need to say “yes” to your spouse and go out to dinner, and it can happen quicker than you think. You can intentionally transition your mindset from work to your personal life in about 10 minutes.
Let’s say you plan to end your work day at 4:00 PM.
Plan for about 10 minutes to properly transition, which might mean you end your work day at 3:50 PM and begin transitioning, or you end your work day at 4:00 PM as planned and transition until about 4:10 PM. Either way is fine, whatever works best for your schedule.
Ok. So, your work day is done and you’re ready to transition.
Minute-by-minute guide for how you can transition from work to life
Minutes 1-2: Start by shutting down your computer and putting your work materials away. Have you ever heard the saying, “Out of sight, out of mind?” That’s exactly what we’re going for here, even though we know work won’t be totally out of your mind. It’s still a good place to start.
Minutes 3-4: Next, you’ll want to reflect on your work day. Take a minute or two to think about the challenges you faced that day and the challenges you overcame that day. Write down any notes and things you want to remember for the next time you work…tomorrow or whenever.
Minutes 5-6: Take an extra minute or two to let all the thoughts in your mind run wild. They need time and space to run free. Write down anything else you want to remember in the future.
Minutes 7-10: Last, you’ll want to intentionally start thinking about your personal life. Maybe you’ll think about your spouse and what time they will be home that day, or your kids and what they typically do when they get home from school, or what you plan to eat for dinner, or what your plans are that night, or what you want to do this weekend, and other fun things. If your brain keeps dragging your thoughts back to work, really focus your thoughts on your personal life by getting even more specific with things.
80% is your goal, not 100%
When you feel like 80% (or so) of your thoughts are focused on your personal life, and not on work anymore, you have successfully transitioned. The 80% might surprise you, because it’s not 100%, but in order for your expectations to match the reality of what will most likely happen, it’s important to note a few things here…
You are an entrepreneur. You think about your business because you love it. And you never have to feel bad about that.
You are a human being, not a robot. You aren’t perfect and you never will be. And that’s a good thing.
You are an entrepreneur and a human being. You are one person. And you can’t always separate these parts of your life. This is NOT a problem.
So, the next time your spouse asks you to go to dinner at a restaurant, and you really want to go, you’ll have the mental energy you need to say “yes” if you spend 10 extra minutes at the end of your work day to effectively transition to your personal life. I know it’s not easy to put into practice, but you can do it if you really want to.
Get the support you need to make this happen
As a Life and Business Coach, this is exactly the type of thing I help my clients do in my programs.
I help online service-based business owners (coaches, consultants, copywriters, graphic designers, other experts) achieve work-life balance, have great relationships with people they love, and have more fun - like avoiding cooking and dishes and instead going out to dinner at a restaurant with their spouse.
We also work on all the other categories of their life and business that makeup their overall work-life balance.
On the personal side, we take a deep look at how they spend their time managing their money, relationships with other people and themselves, personal development and fun, and boring adult responsibilities.
On the business side, we take a deep look at how they spend their time on marketing, sales, improving their product or service, client delivery, and operations.
Click the button below to learn more about working with me.
