SUMMARY POINTS
It’s always a rotating list of things in your head that just can’t seem to go away. No matter what you do, something is always occupying your mind after work. And, you just can’t shake it.
It’s the “oh shit, I forgot to send that email” thought, the huge cross-functional project filled with headache-inducing problems, the unfinished financial analysis, the upcoming executive presentation or any number of things from work.
It’s a good thing to be actively thinking about these things during work but when it’s occupying your mind after work during your personal downtime, it can really start to wear you down.
The moment you shut down for the day, it seems like there’s some internal mental trigger that starts to dig shit up just when you want to disconnect from work and leave all the bullshit behind.
What ends up happening is that your mind becomes preoccupied with work when it should be relaxing and destressing from the day. And, when you end up thinking about work during off hours, you never get a break from work. You feel like you’re working non-stop.
This isn’t good - at all. If you can’t stop thinking about work during downtime, it’ll make managing work stress a damn near impossible task.
It’s the “oh shit, I forgot to send that email” thought, the huge cross-functional project filled with headache-inducing problems, the unfinished financial analysis, the upcoming executive presentation or any number of things from work.
It’s a good thing to be actively thinking about these things during work but when it’s occupying your mind after work during your personal downtime, it can really start to wear you down.
The moment you shut down for the day, it seems like there’s some internal mental trigger that starts to dig shit up just when you want to disconnect from work and leave all the bullshit behind.
What ends up happening is that your mind becomes preoccupied with work when it should be relaxing and destressing from the day. And, when you end up thinking about work during off hours, you never get a break from work. You feel like you’re working non-stop.
This isn’t good - at all. If you can’t stop thinking about work during downtime, it’ll make managing work stress a damn near impossible task.
Why It’s Hard To Not Think About Work
It can be difficult to wrap up a workday and actually leave all your worries at the office. We're all guilty of mulling over tricky emails or looming deadlines while we fight traffic on the commute home, while eating dinner or watching your fav series slouched on the couch.
You wanna know why our minds just can’t let that shit go?
It’s because our minds are hardwired for fear and anxiety. It goes back to our early ancestors. Having a good dose of fear and anxiety is what kept us alive from man-eating tigers.
This default programming has carried over from those caveman days to modern times. The difference is that those man-eating tigers have been replaced with the stressors of work. It’s the overdue tasks, fires at work, upcoming deadlines, overlapping schedules and projects, etc. Or more simply, the fear of getting fired for not getting all your grunt work done.
Our minds don’t want us to forget about something important from our job, leading us to trudge through thinking about yet another task as soon as we get any downtime or worse, force ourselves awake at two in fucking the morning.
It's like our minds forget that most of this shit is saved on our desktops at work and it's not up to them alone to remember every single thing. So, this is why our minds just can’t seem to shake off work thoughts. It wants to keep you out of trouble. But, in doing so, it creates more anxiety.
You wanna know why our minds just can’t let that shit go?
It’s because our minds are hardwired for fear and anxiety. It goes back to our early ancestors. Having a good dose of fear and anxiety is what kept us alive from man-eating tigers.
This default programming has carried over from those caveman days to modern times. The difference is that those man-eating tigers have been replaced with the stressors of work. It’s the overdue tasks, fires at work, upcoming deadlines, overlapping schedules and projects, etc. Or more simply, the fear of getting fired for not getting all your grunt work done.
Our minds don’t want us to forget about something important from our job, leading us to trudge through thinking about yet another task as soon as we get any downtime or worse, force ourselves awake at two in fucking the morning.
It's like our minds forget that most of this shit is saved on our desktops at work and it's not up to them alone to remember every single thing. So, this is why our minds just can’t seem to shake off work thoughts. It wants to keep you out of trouble. But, in doing so, it creates more anxiety.
5 Steps To Switch Off From Work Fast
One of the biggest things on most of our minds is: “Did I remember to do that thing?” It’s a constant loop of thought that has the potential to drive you batshit crazy.
But don’t worry – there’s an easy fix to this.
All it involves is a 5-step trust exercise with your mind, wherein you give it the assurance that yes, everything is okay and recorded in one central place so that nothing slips through the cracks.
With these simple steps, you can take back control of your worrying mind, relax during off-hours and then get back in the zone with work the next day.
But don’t worry – there’s an easy fix to this.
All it involves is a 5-step trust exercise with your mind, wherein you give it the assurance that yes, everything is okay and recorded in one central place so that nothing slips through the cracks.
With these simple steps, you can take back control of your worrying mind, relax during off-hours and then get back in the zone with work the next day.
Step 1: Save And Close Current Working Files
You’ve got all sorts of programs up and running on your computer all day long. You’re multitasking the shit out of your computer and it’s getting worked like a fresh army recruit in boot camp.
Go program by program and save your work and close the program on your computer. This not only ensures that you save all your kick-ass progress from the day, but it’s also a great digital ritual to wind down your day. It brings a sense of accomplishment that you made some progress.
Go program by program and save your work and close the program on your computer. This not only ensures that you save all your kick-ass progress from the day, but it’s also a great digital ritual to wind down your day. It brings a sense of accomplishment that you made some progress.
Step 2: Write Down Incomplete Tasks From Today
Now, it’s time to get physical and put pen to paper and write down all your incomplete tasks. Sure, it may seem counterintuitive to take more time at the end of the day to record what needs to be done, but trust us – it will help put your mind at ease so it doesn’t nag you later on.
Use a simple sheet of paper or create a new list in your notebook and list out what you didn’t get to today. This way, you don’t have to rely on your memory which allows your mind to not worry as much.
Use a simple sheet of paper or create a new list in your notebook and list out what you didn’t get to today. This way, you don’t have to rely on your memory which allows your mind to not worry as much.
Step 3: Preview Tomorrow’s Workday
Previewing your work calendar for tomorrow is like a sneak peek of what's in store. With an idea of what lies ahead, it helps put your mind at ease because there won’t be any surprises.
You can prepare yourself without feeling anxious or overwhelmed by acknowledging the schedule and telling yourself that it’s under control. You’ll be ready to go tomorrow since you’ll be able to rest and recharge tonight.
You can prepare yourself without feeling anxious or overwhelmed by acknowledging the schedule and telling yourself that it’s under control. You’ll be ready to go tomorrow since you’ll be able to rest and recharge tonight.
Step 4: Add Key To-Do’s For Tomorrow
As an extension of previewing tomorrow’s work schedule, write down any key tasks that you need to complete on the same task list as above. These are the new tasks that are added to the unfinished ones from today.
This creates a comprehensive list of to-do’s that are all written down. These new tasks should be prioritized along with incomplete ones when you get back to work the following morning during your coffee meditation, not now. This point here is to write down all that shit so that your mind sees that it’s recorded on paper.
This creates a comprehensive list of to-do’s that are all written down. These new tasks should be prioritized along with incomplete ones when you get back to work the following morning during your coffee meditation, not now. This point here is to write down all that shit so that your mind sees that it’s recorded on paper.
Step 5: Turn Off Computer And Work Phone
In this last step, go through a full shutdown of your computer. The reason for this is that when you do a complete shutdown, it adds another layer of friction to re-starting work. This is in contrast to just putting it to sleep where you can easily wake it up to resume work.
This is particularly important when you work remotely from home. Doing a full shutdown is one of the tips and tricks for WFH disconnecting. It adds a barrier to help prevent “quick checks” during downtime.
And if you’ve got a work phone, do the same. Or at the very least, disable all work-related notifications. These will just trigger your mind into thinking that there’s something urgent when really, it’s just another email or reminder notification.
This is particularly important when you work remotely from home. Doing a full shutdown is one of the tips and tricks for WFH disconnecting. It adds a barrier to help prevent “quick checks” during downtime.
And if you’ve got a work phone, do the same. Or at the very least, disable all work-related notifications. These will just trigger your mind into thinking that there’s something urgent when really, it’s just another email or reminder notification.
Switch Off & Relax Tonight For A Productive Day Tomorrow
It can be hard as hell to let go of work, especially if you’re under a lot of pressure. What makes it worse is that our minds are programmed to feed on this anxiety and keep us thinking about work.
What happens is that you become trapped in an endless loop of mental anguish where you’re about to lose your shit. Your mind never gets the chance to relax and recharge. It’s always “on” and worried about how something you did or didn’t do at work will spell your doom and get you in trouble.
The reality is that there isn’t anything that you could do or not do that would bring down the company or get you fired - well, except for having sex at work, that’ll definitely get you shit-canned.
The key solution here is to let your mind know that you’ve got everything under control and that all the things that need to get done are written down. You’ll get to it all tomorrow. So, don’t sweat it.
It’s time to chillax with an unplugged evening to digitally detox yourself and recover from the day’s madness. You’ll be back to being a champ tomorrow.
Feel Better,
[Cubicle|Therapy]
What happens is that you become trapped in an endless loop of mental anguish where you’re about to lose your shit. Your mind never gets the chance to relax and recharge. It’s always “on” and worried about how something you did or didn’t do at work will spell your doom and get you in trouble.
The reality is that there isn’t anything that you could do or not do that would bring down the company or get you fired - well, except for having sex at work, that’ll definitely get you shit-canned.
The key solution here is to let your mind know that you’ve got everything under control and that all the things that need to get done are written down. You’ll get to it all tomorrow. So, don’t sweat it.
It’s time to chillax with an unplugged evening to digitally detox yourself and recover from the day’s madness. You’ll be back to being a champ tomorrow.
Feel Better,
[Cubicle|Therapy]