How to Leave Work at Work and Enjoy Your Personal Time

Have you ever left work and, all of a sudden, arrived in your garage? You were completely on autopilot and don't even remember making that turn. You were probably thinking through your day at the office and not concentrating on the road. Many people want to know how to ease into family life after experiencing a crazy day because it's so hard to turn work off. Here are some ideas to make the transition easier:

1. Plan for tomorrow before you leave work. When you "download" the day's activities before you leave work, you will be fully present to your family. Planning helps you leave work at work. I know I haven't gone a good job planning when I'm reading a book to one of my children and I haven't heard a word I've read. I'm only thinking about what I need to do when I'm done reading the book. That's when I confess to my family that I need ten minutes in the office to download my day, and then I'll emerge again, fully ready to be mommy and wife.
2. Make any last-minute essential calls on the way home. Make it your goal to complete your work by the time you arrive home. I like to call John on the way home from a speaking engagement to catch up before arriving home. If we can get "business" out of the way before I return home, we can focus on more meaningful interaction in our discussions. Make sure you turn off the cell phone when you greet your family.
3. Get a babysitter. If I need to run a few errands in the evening and I don't think I can handle the chaos of dragging three kids along, I call grandma and ask her to come over. I can enjoy the alone time, get my errands done in record time, and provide a quality experience for my children and their grandma. John and I also take one night a week to go on a "date," sans children, to spend some quality time together. Every couple of weeks, I also plan a Girls Night Out with my girlfriends.
4. Find something that relaxes you. I like to take a bubble bath after the kids are in bed. You might like to curl up with a good book for a few moments of solitude. Do whatever nurtures your soul.
5. Be present. Avoid the tendency to multitask at home. Some people don't feel productive when they're not doing four things at once (such as driving, talking on the phone, drinking coffee, and putting on makeup). If this describes you, shift your focus. You must be especially attentive with children. On weekends, turn off the technology, slow down, and reinvest in yourself. Don't go to bed physically and mentally exhausted on Sunday night and expect to be alert and efficient on Monday morning. Draw the line somewhere.
6. Turn off the phone. One of our cherished family times is dinner. To ensure this is a high-quality interaction, we take the phone off the hook. By doing this, our calls go straight to voice mail, and we can focus on each other.

Bottom line: draw a line in the sand. Don't apologize for making a clear distinction between work and personal time. If you work Monday through Friday, devote every minute of your weekend to your family. Try to do whatever they want to do on the weekends.

Rarely does work encroach on my weekend time with my family. I'm often asked, "Does ‘The Productivity Pro' have a normal life?" Yes, I do what everyone else does: sit down to dinner, go to the grocery store, take a trip to the park, watch soccer games, and go out with my spouse. But, just like most of you, I am passionate about my work too. Make a conscious effort to turn off work at the end of the day and wherever you are…be there!

Make it a productive day! ™

THE morning after: What you can do -- and what to do next time, Newark Star Ledger, NJ. Hangovers cost the US economy $148 billion a year in employee absences and decreased productivity. -more-

MAKING, breaking those New Year's resolutions, Clarksville Leaf Chronicle, TN. Time management experts say New Year's resolutions should be specific and based on what is important in a person's life. -more-

TIRED of being tired? Fort Worth Star Telegram - Fort Worth, TX, USA... If you're looking for ways to increase your energy level, here are suggestions from experts in the fields of nutrition, exercise, sleep and time management. -more-

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. - Carl Sandburg

In New York, people are very overbooked. You say, "When do you want to have dinner?" It's May. They say, "What about October?" And then they complain: "Oh you can't believe how booked up I am." - Fran Lebowitz

Waiting is a trap. There will always be reasons to wait…the truth is, there are only two things in life, reasons and results, and reasons simply don't count. - Robert Anthony

CONCENTRATION: How to Maintain Your Focus

Concentration is very hard to achieve at work. With noise, interruptions, instant messages, and e-mail, so many things competing for our attention in the workplace that it's often very difficult to focus. This half-day or full-day seminar will improve your ability stay on target and focus on the task at hand.

Course Objectives
1. Configure your office for maximum productivity and minimum distractions.
2. Complete small pieces of a project, rather than getting overwhelmed by the entire thing.
3. Improve your memory skills.
4. Focus on a priority project without getting distracted.
5. Don't "multitask" or attempt to do too many things at once.
6. Understand the importance of making lists.
7. Read quickly and maintain concentration without rereading.
8. Recognize signs of brain overload and get your mind focused again.
9. Get absorbed in a task and achieve a state of "flow."
10. Concentrate on a task that bores you or doesn't really interest you.

*Schedule this seminar by July 1, 2004 (to be held on ANY date) and receive a 10% discount for mentioning this newsletter.

Copyright Information

(C) 2004 Laura Stack, MBA, CSP. All rights reserved.

Portions of this newsletter may be reprinted in your organization or association newsletter, provided the following credit line is present:

"Laura M. Stack, MBA, CSP, is "The Productivity PRO!"(R), helping people leave the office earlier, with less stress, and more to show for it. She presents keynotes and seminars on time management, information overload, and personal productivity. Contact Laura at 303-471-7401 or Laura@
TheProductivityPro.com."