Check yourself before your wreck yourself
As the famous philosopher (also known as Ice Cube) says:
“you need to check yourself before you wreck yourself”
Now, he may have more knowledge of 90’s pop culture than of mental health, but this does in fact resinate with most of us.
Taking time out to ensure you recharge and refocus can be vital for your health, as well as giving you much needed time to rest, relax and enjoy what is most important in our lives.
Work can take up as much time in your head out of hours as it does when you’re at work. This can then lead to workplace fatigue and anxiety, not to mention a pretty boring companion at the dinner table at night!
In an age when we are always accessible, many clients feel they can contact us whenever it is convenient for them, which often sits outside their work hours – on weekends and at night or even early morning. So how do you set boundaries for yourself, ensuring you leave that phone at the door or, even better, off and take the time you deserve with your family and friends.
Here are some handy hints to help you check yourself:
- Realise, and truly understand, that some things can wait until the morning
- Before you leave work in the afternoon, write an exit check list – this is a list of tasks to tackle the next day when you are fresh and motivated, then set an out of office message for the night
- Create a ‘no work’ space at home where you can invest in your relaxation time, a comfy chair and a book, an exercise machine, or even a game console
- Talk to someone, take time out, put free time in the diary to spend with a good friend
So lets’ start with that checklist, move onto some music on the way home, have a chat with the kids over dinner and finish off with something that makes you happy at the end of the day.