The art of unplugging from work

To disconnect or unplug is to create a clear divide between different activities or various parts of your day - especially between leisure and work time. This allows a focussed switch from professional aspects of your life, to personal ones, which can involve family time, physical activity, emotional wellness, or hobbies.

Work tasks, especially in peak seasons or demanding professions, never seem to end. If you are someone who travels to your workplace, you may often also come back and attend a meeting or finish sending an email. Moreover, with many people working from home, the divide between work and the personal has blended more than ever before. Unplugging then can seem challenging as there is limited physical distinction between home and office. Thus the need to disconnect and figure out how to consciously be able to do so is a dire need. 

What is the impact of disconnecting from work? 

A study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in 2018 talked about how having time for mental and emotional recovery outside of work hours is essential to maintaining consistent energy levels. The researchers observed health workers and saw that those who couldn’t stop thinking about work or related things reported feeling more fatigued, stressed and also lacked sleep.

Without activities that acted as a buffer between work time and personal time, people remained in “work mode”, and were unable to recover from the stresses of the day. Thus, they would start the following day more exhausted and mentally unprepared.

Other studies have shown that lack of detachment has a social, cognitive, emotional and physical impact in the short term and the long term. This can be chronic burnout, long-term health conditions, poor memory, low creativity, disinterest in meeting people and low motivation in the work itself. 

How do you unplug from work?

1. Set a time to end your day If you have fixed hours for work, make sure to stick to them. In case of a job with flexible timings or odd hours, set yourself a time to end your day, based on work to be completed as well based on your body and mind clock. Do not push yourself beyond when you notice your mind switching off, and make use of your best working hours in the day.  
2. Review and plan Towards the end of your work day, or when you notice yourself zoning out or switching off, quickly review how much of your agenda you have been able to meet and what you need to do the next day. You can even note what you would like to start your next day with, to feel mentally prepared for what to expect.
3. Change something physically around you In case you work from home, making a distinction between your work day and leisure time is very important. It’s helpful if you already have a separate working space or desk. But there are more things you can do to create this physical transition! You can change your clothes into something (more) comfortable, change the lighting around you, maybe from bright lights to dimmer ones, step outside for a walk, eat something, do some chores or play music. 
4. Create a ritual to do after you end the workdayFollowing through with the above, you can create a habit with intention and meaning that calms you or excites you, and shifts your energy to disconnection. This could be the same thing daily or a few different things. It could be a small activity like the above, or something else like doing an activity you enjoy (a sport, art, watching TV, playing with your pet).
5. Deactivate work notifications on your phoneThis is extremely important and a simple thing to do to help you disengage from work. Switch off email notifications and chatting platforms on your phone after a certain time of the day. Also, keep a cut-off time to stop work communication over platforms like WhatsApp.
6. Follow sleeping and eating routinesRevenge time procrastination is when you try to reclaim your day that has been spent working, by doing things you did not get to do, like scrolling phones or watching TV. This easily seeps into sleep time leaving you tired the next morning. Try to have a range of times during which you try to sleep. 

Similarly, eating habits are easily thrown off during work hours and affect meals or snacking post-work hours too. Be mindful of what you eat and when, as poor gastrointestinal health impacts mood as well as other aspects of health.

7. Spend time on leisure and doing nothing 

Try to find time in your week or at least a few times in the month where you can just laze, catch up with people over the phone or do something playful and fun. You may have to explore and find a way to indulge in the activity that you enjoy, or just remember what you like and make sure to take the time to do it! 

The art of disconnecting after work

The key word to disconnection is ‘practice’! This is a habit we built, based on action as well as attitude. Understanding your priorities and capacity can help you know how to do this. 

FAQs

Q. What are some resources that can help me in taking breaks?

1. The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown 
2. The Nap Ministry podcast 
3. The Power of Now and A New Earth by Exhart Tolle 

Q. What can come in the way of disengaging from work?

You may have ingrained beliefs around productivity and worth, guilt around taking a break, or financial goals and pressure from management. 

Identify what comes up for you when you are trying to disengage from work. For work-related obstacles, see what changes you can make or from whom you can get support. For your own beliefs, you can try self-help books or personal therapy that offers alternate ways of thinking and deeper reflections.