Tip 14 Build a psychological bridge between work and home.

 

 My therapy  day is focused on listening to others. My level of attention and emotional availability has to be high in order that I do that job well. 

I have always been aware of the need for some personal transitional space between the therapy room and returning to family who want my attention and to tell me about their day.

Often the short drive home was enough to allow me to tune out of my therapy mode and be ready for home- but it wasn’t always – If I had seen a lot of clients or my work had been intense, I would need more than that. On those days I found that I could not listen to others until I had some time for myself. 

Now I only have to run up the stairs, and like all remote workers I have to manage my boundaries without the aid of the commute.

So now like me you’ll have to create your own psychological, transitional bridge.

• Decide on activities that you do at the beginning and at the end of work. It doesn’t have to be exercise, it can be just time for yourself where you are not talking to others – read,walk,yoga….
• Agree with your partner or family that although you’re finished work you’re taking the next 15 minutes to yourself- maybe just sit alone and listen to music.

If you don’t create a habit for yourself in this pressurised lockdown time, one that gives you an opportunity to decompress from the effort of your work then, you can arrive to family irritated, and narky. 

Maybe you’re cognitively overloaded or irritated by the demands of your day, or by what you didn’t get completed. 

Whatever it is you need to learn to close the files, write the “note to self” for tomorrow, close that virtual tour and give your mind a chance to let it all go before you walk down the stairs and meet your family. 

#mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #health #covid19 #wellbeing #exercise #walking #cycling #lockdownmoodlift 

#lockdown #workplace #anxiety #depression #therapy #psychotherapy 

#remoteworking