It’s normal to try to balance your work and your personal life by integrating them. It seems like it would be a great idea to mix your co-workers in with your friends and check your emails when you watch TV with your family, but it’s actually not.
Combining work with pleasure doesn’t make us feel more balanced or happy. Frequently, it leaves us feeling burnt out and tired of the demands coming in from work. Instead of trying this form of balance, it’s best to create complete separation between your life at the office and your life everywhere else.
Set some boundaries.
If you find yourself checking your emails on the weekends or right when you wake up in the morning, then you should take your work email off of your phone. About 99% of emails sent outside of work hours don’t need your immediate attention, so wait until you’re physically at your desk before you open that inbox. If it’s important, you can be reached via telephone.
Don’t mix co-workers and friends.
It’s wonderful to feel like you have an ally at the office, but work friends shouldn’t always become friends outside of work. Sometimes this works, but other times it means you’re at the bar on Friday night discussing work when you really want to talk about absolutely anything else.
Hanging out with your co-workers during your personal time can make it seem like you’ve never left work, and that leads to feeling frustrated and stressed out.
Keep your personal life private.
Talking about your personal life at work might not seem like a big deal, but it can blur the lines between professional and personal. Instead of talking to your boss or co-workers about how trying it is to potty-train your 2-year-old, talk about what you’re working on or some article you read that could help your company. It’s important to make it clear you’re at work to work and that you’re focused.
Don’t bring your work home.
Instead of leaving work at 5 p.m. and heading home to finish up anything that needs to get done that day, stay at work until it’s done. Taking work home never actually works out as well as you expect it to.
For starters, you’ve been at work all day, so when you walk through the door, you’ll probably head straight for the couch, or do some chores. You should spend your time out of the office unwinding and enjoying your life, not trying to complete your to-do list.
