Q. Recently, I’ve had a lot of trouble switching off at the end of the day, especially when I’m working from home. I can already tell this year is going to be a busy one for my brokerage. Any advice that can help me switch off?
One of the things I encourage a lot of my clients to do, particularly those who work from home, is to create an opportunity to be able to reset and change hats.
Sometimes, it’s as easy as literally changing the shirt that you’re wearing, so you’re telling yourself, physically: “I’m a different version of me now”. And then you can be more present with your family.
The other thing that works incredibly well, even if people are commuting or working in offices, is to do a bit of a brain dump at the end of the day.
What we tend to do is run our day and, when we come home, we’re still thinking about the stuff we need to do, the stuff we didn’t do, and what we’ve got on tomorrow. But if you actually stop and write it down, in handwriting, on a piece of paper, it makes your brain let go of the focus on it because that’s an act of doing something. We only get anxious about things and ruminate over things because it’s our body’s way of saying: “Hey, something needs to happen here. You need to do something.”
So, if you do something as simple as writing it down, your brain will let go of it more quickly, which means you’re much less likely to ruminate. Therefore, you’re more likely to be present and you can start to build in some of the tools that will help you switch between the work version and the home version of yourself.
Have a question for our expert psychotherapist Bronwyn Penhaligon? Send your questions to [email protected]
Or, if you feel you need more support, you can visit penhaligons.com.au to schedule a one-on-one appointment.
