Words of inspiration from Dawlish-based psychotherapist and life coach Jody Merelle.
Much of my working life is spent developing and delivering wellbeing workshops for different teams of health and social care staff around Devon.
I realised quickly that no two teams have quite the same wants or needs, so every workshop ends up being different to the previous one.
At the same time though, there are some themes which come up regularly. One of the most common at the moment is how to find ways to separate work and home life – particularly as the pandemic has blurred the boundaries for many of us.
People have talked about having to work from home but not having enough space to do so.
Zoom meetings held with demanding toddlers in the background or more than one person trying to work from home using the same equipment. For some, their only ‘office space’ has been sitting on the stairs. But even for those people such as ward staff, who have continued to go out to work throughout the last two years, many have found that it has become harder to spend quality time at home without being constantly preoccupied by what is going on at work.
People have reported feeling short-tempered, anxious, stressed and less tolerant of others. Many have had difficulties sleeping and others say that have found it hard to switch off and enjoy any of the things that would usually bring them pleasure.
If any of this resonates with you, then it might be worth thinking about ways in which you can start to ‘train’ yourself to move from work mode into one where you can relax and switch off a bit.
There is no one method that will work for everyone, but suggestions have included changing clothes immediately after work, having a shower or putting on a comfortable pair of slippers.
All of these things can send a message to the brain that now it is time to embrace some down time and think about things other than work.
Those who have spent days working from home say that it can be helpful to put away their computer. Some have even chosen to lock it in a cupboard to avoid any temptation of returning to it during non-working hours.
Other helpful ways to move from work to relaxation mode can be to take the dog out for a walk, get some fresh air, listen to some music, do some exercise or sit in front of a non-demanding tv programme.
The important thing is to find an activity that you both enjoy and which feels far removed from any activity connected to your worklife. By simply doing something totally different, your mind is likely to accept the fact that your working day is now over and it is ok to start thinking about other things entirely.
Once you manage to put your work stresses behind you, you are likely to get far more enjoyment from the evening and be better company to those around you as well.
If you lead a busy family life you will probably have a list of things that need doing once your work day is over. Shopping for food, making the dinner, taking children to evening activities or caring for a relative.
The reality of life is that many people have very little downtime at all. If this sounds familiar, then it is even more important to carve out even just a few minutes at the end of your working day just to allow yourself a few minutes of breathing space.
There is nothing at all selfish about doing this – you are just moving from one mode to another and allowing yourself the best chance of a little rest and recuperation before starting at work again the next day.
Talking about being kind to ourselves has become a bit of a cliché recently.
However, in these unprecedented and unsettling times, taking just a few minutes each day to look after ourselves, switch off and enjoy time away from work has never been more important.