Home Advice Top 5 Tips for Switching off When You’re Not at Work

Top 5 Tips for Switching off When You’re Not at Work

These days, most of us are guilty of working too hard. We no longer leave our jobs at the office. We bring the stress and the pressures home to the dinner table. And this has a major impact on the amount of satisfaction that we take from our downtime. You can have laziest weekend in the world, but if you are constantly thinking about work, it isn’t much of a break.

This is why it is important to make time for relaxation. It does not matter whether you like to read, paint, or pamper yourself with spa treatments; if it makes you feel good, make room for it. Find an activity that is all about you. Commit to switching off all of those worries and anxieties about work, even if it is only for a brief period.

These handy hints and tips for switching off when not at work will help you to unwind, indulge, and chill out.

Treat Yourself to a Massage

8377363300_fd2bef0a71_z

If there is one thing that’s guaranteed to end in total relaxation, it’s a deep tissue remedial massage. It is ideal for anybody who is prone to carrying stress not just in their mind, but in their muscles too. The Four Seasons massage and spa treatments are great at relieving chronic aches and pains in problem regions like the lower back, neck, and shoulders. The mind cannot be at peace while the body is on edge, so treat yourself to a relaxing massage.

Spend Time Away From Home

It is easy for modern professionals to get caught up in a cycle of inertia. You work hard all week at the office, so that you can have fun at the weekend. But when it finally arrives, you cut back on your plans and stay in watching Netflix again. While the temptation to swap adventure for nights on the sofa is understandable, it usually leads to a sense of dissatisfaction. Make the effort to go out for dinner, take a stroll in the park, have drinks with friends, or see a new movie.

Switch Off Your Mobile

This is the hardest move of all to make for most people. The pull of notifications, text messages, and status updates is just too strong. The reality, however, is that the brain associates time spent online with productivity. And when you’re home for the weekend, trying to unwind, the last thing that you want is to be stuck in ‘work mode.’ You don’t have to switch it off for the whole weekend, but give yourself at least a couple of hours away from Facebook, Twitter, and your messy inbox.

Dive into a Good Book

8359829412_4f702b2911_z

Reading is a great relaxation activity, because it is completely self-indulgent. It is all about you and your ability to immerse yourself in another world. If you struggle to stay the course with chunky novels, grab a book of short stories or even a magazine. Pour yourself a cup of tea, find a comfy chair, and forget about the outside world for a while. If you are prone to stress, try to avoid newspapers or anything too serious. Use your free time as an opportunity for escapism.

Enlist the Help of Others

If you have treated yourself to a Swedish massage, stormed through your latest novel, and are still finding it difficult to switch off, ask the people around you for guidance. Sometimes, it can be enough for a partner or friend to simply give you their perspective. Ask them to speak up if they feel like you are not fully present when spending time with them. It helps to know how our behaviour affects the people around us. If they ask nicely, put your phone away and focus your attention solely on them.

There are no hard and fast rules for learning how to switch off when away from work. The trick is to carve out a place yourself, in the midst of the chaos of modern life. Treat relaxation like food; little and often is the path to happiness.

Image Source; Image Source; Image Source