One simple goal for the week
Goal: do not bring work stress home with me.
I used to think I was really good at “leaving work at work” – coming home and not having work on my mind AT ALL. But that has not been the case lately. Last week was awful. I felt frustrated every night. Which sucks. Because I really look forward to spending my evening with these guys:
And when I am feeling frustrated and stressed, I am not very fun to be around.
A lot of my stress is feeling like I have too much to do, even though I know that I don’t. So I constantly tell myself “You have enough time to get everything done.” And, “Not everything is urgent. It’s not a life or death situation.” How sad is it that I have to tell myself these things?
I hate how anxious I am. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it.
Are you able to leave work/school stress behind at the end of the day? What are your tricks?
Themocracy
I’m sorry you’re feeling anxious… it sucks. 🙁
Honestly, I’m a pretty uptight person most of the time… but the worst possible thing anyone can do when I’m wound up is try to calm me down. If I’m just left alone for a few minutes at the end of a stressful day, just to breathe, I’ll usually be fine.
<3 <3
I used to be better at it but I’ve noticed lately that work worries are starting to creep into my non-work life. I’ve found that as soon as I start worrying about something if I write down a reminder or a “to do” item I’m usually better able to let it go and focus on enjoying myself when I’m not at work.
Yeah, I do that too – writing everything down helps a LOT!
🙁 That sucks that you’re feeling so anxious. I think one thing that helps me is by visualizing myself finishing everything. When I’m feeling like I have too much to do, I do a play-by-play of my next few days. I walk myself through and picture myself getting everything done. I predict my day and then try to follow my prediction. I usually do this when I”m running or taking a shower or something. It might help…
You are not stupid! Not bringing work home, especially if work is stressful, is really hard. I swear the only thing that keeps me relatively sane is to prioritize self-care. Go to yoga or Nia or Zumba, meditate, get to bed early and above all, LAUGH.
Oh yeah. Working out after work definitely helps. It makes it hard to stay frustrated. At work, anyway 😉
Sorry to hear that you’ve been stressed and worried about work – and that it is affecting other aspects of your life. Is there some way that you can create a break for yourself? I admit that when I’m anxious (and not sleeping), I find it very hard to make myself ‘calm down’.
As a teacher, I bring work home. It is part of the reality of my life, but then I also have the summer off. Still, it can be difficult because there is always something that I *should* do – not even grading or planning but thing like going to a sports or arts event. But taking time off is also very important so that I do have the energy that the job requires, so I try to not feel too guilty about it.
I actually have time off from work coming up! I think it will be exactly what I need.
I am not sure I would be able to bring work home like you do. I would feel obligated to be doing something all the time!
I think Im pretty good at leaving it at work, but not always. There are some nights when I will wake up realizing I forgot to do something and not be able to get back to sleep. Its awful.
My simple goal is to be happy where I am at the moment. I get so caught up in goals and where I am going that I sometimes forget to just be!
John and I have struggled with this. He’s like you – work stresses keep him up at night. But I’ve always been able to “turn work off” the minute I walked out the door. I’m not sure what the difference is between us – just our natures I guess.
(aside – I forgot to give you the link to that blog I was talking about saturday, so here it is: http://athenadiaries.blogspot.com/ )
The thing is, it used to NOT happen to me. It’s just been more stressful lately, I think. Or I am changing.
Thanks for the link! I added it to reader 🙂
I rarely think about work outside of work. If I do think about it and I think of something important, I write it down as stated by others. That way I don’t have to remember it and I can stop thinking about work. 🙂 My job is great though because I don’t have to take work home with me at all… unless I’m working from home.
For years, I worked very hard to not bring work stress home. I managed it very well, but there were a number of days and months that it was impossible not to. The stress of work for an IT guy has a way of finding it’s way home, especially when the cell phone rings at 2am and it’s Europe waking me up because they can’t get access to something.
My goal is to find a line of work where the stress is manageable and due to something that I really love doing.
I wish I had some good advice for you, but I am probably the worst about bringing my stress home with me. (Homework=stress.) Ughhhh. If you get any good tips, please share them with me!
I am the worst at bringing stress into my life, although I’m pretty good at leaving school/life stress at home when I’m at work. But it makes me get irritated more easily which means I snap at people when I shouldn’t. I like the idea of writing it down when it comes to your mind! Good tip!
I can totally relate to what you are going through. Reading that post was like reading something I wrote about my work life lately. I am just so stressed at the end of my work day and I do bring it home too often. I complain to my husband a lot and share weird work stories. I am trying to leave it at work and forget about it, but it’s hard.
Can you get any assistance at work so you aren’t so stressed? In my job, it is available, but I just have to talk to my boss more about delegating some tasks to others.
I think we should get to vent a bit to our husbands, but we both know when are going overboard, right? 🙂
And I will respond to your last question in an email 😉
It can be tough to leave your work at work and focus on our family when you are how. What I try to do is unwind, i replay the day and work on ideas or tomorrow on my commute home. If I find myself heading to work thoughts I have to bring my mind to the present and remind myself that I am not there and to enjoy being at home. Sometimes the “forced” reminder helps.
Ugh. I think that is a great goal…although one that is very hard to do. Especially when you’re a dedicated employee, which, I am sure you are!
Right now I don’t take work home, but with teaching I DEFinitely did – and I might with my next job. I wish there was an easier solution to finding the right balance…