10 Ways To Separate Work From Your Personal Life

It’s very easy to assume that everything in your life needs to be one unit because you do live one life right? Well you won’t fully function if you don’t learn to separate your one life into sections. Obviously your love life cannot be meshed up with your work life and your social life cannot be meshed up with your family life. For that reason, we put together a list to help you separate your work life from your personal life to create that needed balance.

1. Keep your work space professional

There’s nothing wrong with decorating your works space pictures of your family, birthday cards and flowers, however it is a problem when you turn your office space into your small home. It’s easy to get distracted with things that have nothing to do with work and therefore slacking on your job. Make sure that you keep the space as professional as possible. If you must, surround yourself with motivational quotes to keep you focused.

2. Don’t bring work home

To avoid doing this, you need to ensure that you use the time at work to do what you’re actually hired to do. This way you won’t have an excuse for bringing work home. Prioritise on all your tasks for the day and allocate time to each of them. Do this, and you can go home and relax without the guilt of the work load you’re adding up for the next day.

3. Do homely duties

When there’s nothing to do at home, it’s easy to fill in the gap with work because of the simple fact that work is never fully complete. However if you set a routine of a weekly roster of things to do at home, work won’t have to fill in empty gaps at home. The most common excuse is that if one has a helper, there normally isn’t as much to do when you get home. Take some duties such as cooking, washing dishes or sorting out your wardrobe. If there really aren’t any chores, try reading a book, catching up on series, or go to bed an hour earlier.

4. Have something relaxing to look forward to when home

We all have our favourite thing to do. Although there normally isn’t much of the day left after work, you could still do your favourite activity for the remaining 4 hours before bed time. It doesn’t have to take up all the time even, all it needs to do is be relaxing. Excising is always the best option.

5. Balance your thoughts

Think positive thought at all times. Yes sometimes some areas of your life might be better than others, but the fact that one side is going south doesn’t need to affect everything else in your life. Balancing and separating your thoughts will also help you not to take it out on the people around you. If you must, think of one area as your happy place and use it to pump yourself up to get through the other side of your life that’s not going so well.

6. Avoid office gossip

Conversation is not a bad thing. You don’t want to be known as the stiff one who doesn’t talk in the office. However, draw a line as to what you discuss and what you don’t. It’s easy for some people to open up but it’s not always a good idea. Keep such things for close friends and family. Keep conversations professional and if you do discuss family, never go below the surface.

7. Get support

No man is an island. We are all interdependent. If one area of your life is overwhelming, get help. Professional help might seem a bit extreme or exaggerated but talk to someone so that it doesn’t spill into other areas of your life. Talk to your parent or make a phone call to the bestie. Playing with kids does wonders too.

8. Learn to say no

Because work is never fully done, it’s tempting to take work home. However, you need to learn how to draw the line and to say no when you see that it will make you compromise on your life. Do so politely and emphasise the fact that you need to rest to be productive the next day. People who qualify to boldly say no however are people who are on top of their game where work is concerned.

9. Have a social life

Lonely people work the most because they have nothing else to do. Set time aside for yourself to see a friend after work for dinner or take yourself out for a walk if you’re not one of many friends. Just avoid putting yourself in a space where work is all there is to do.

10. Weigh your options

Not all people have the same priorities, so if working will be of more benefit and is worth the extra hours of work, do it. Just be honest with yourself. The last thing you want is to end up hating your job, not because it sucks but because its all you ever do. Family and friends are just as important because you will need them to celebrate your successes and to support you through your mistakes and failures.