| My buddy Bedros Keuilian likes to say:
“When you hit the snooze button in the morning, you’re telling your hopes and dreams that they are not important and that they can wait.”
B really nails it on that one. Such a great perspective.
Well here’s another perspective you probably never thought of…
When you work late at night?
You’re telling your family the same thing!
Working until 7, 8, or 10pm is like hitting the “snooze button” on your real life.
No matter how you actually feel…
It sends the signal to yourself and your family that work is more important…
And it robs you of time with the people and activities you really care about.
This gets even worse when you’re working from home.
With lines constantly overlapping between work and personal life…
It can spiral out of hand.
Listen, I get it… I used to be terrible for this!
I felt like I could never shut “work mode” off.
For highly driven people like you and me it’s just instinct.
But if you install the right bumpers and boundaries in your day…
You can perform at your best when it’s time to work…
And “flip the switch” to be present with your family when it’s time for the rest of life.
Here’s how:
1. Delineate Space (and Time)
To separate work and personal life at home when they’re so closely intertwined…
You need to draw lines between them physically, mentally, and verbally.
You must create physical boundaries for where you work.
Once established, you work in your office space ONLY.
You do not work at the dinner table… on the couch… or in front of the tv.
Similarly, you can mentally “bookend” your days by putting on a work outfit in the morning…
… and changing out of it at the end of your workday (rather than wearing the same track pants for 15+ hours).
And, simple but often overlooked…
You must clearly communicate with everyone in your home about when and where you will be working.
It may seem obvious to you that it’s not appropriate for someone to barge into your office at 10am…
But if you’re serious about preventing interruptions that’s not enough — you need to tell them.
2. “Turn On” Rituals
The best way to overcome procrastination is obvious:
Just get started.
That’s not always easy to do, but simple rituals can help.
We touched on this above with changing in and out of work clothes.
Another powerful example is listening to music.
This can be a single “anchor” song to start your day…
Or a playlist you only associate with work and which plays constantly during your workday.
For example…
I listen to piano music by Erik Satie — a 15 minute song called “Once Upon a Time in Paris” — looping on repeat.
These are all just ways of signaling to our brain that it’s time for work… and priming ourselves to get into the right mental state.
Legendary copywriter, John Carlton, has an almost superstitious pre-work ritual he swears by…
Before sitting down to write million dollar direct response ads…
He walks around his desk 3 times, then plunks down in his chair.
As you can see, this doesn’t have to be complicated.
It’s just about flipping a psychological switch.
3. Habit Building & Breaking
If you’re constantly working all hours of the day and night…
The bad news is that habit is already ingrained.
The good news is you can break the cycle.
If having your phone nearby leads to checking emails on the couch when you’re supposed to be present with your kids — try leaving it in the other room.
However, anytime you remove a bad habit it leaves a void that must be filled…
If it isn’t, that habit is likely to resume.
So if sitting through the millionth episode of Peppa Pig or PAW Patrol leaves you wishing you could bust out your phone…
Switch the activity altogether.
Play a family game… go for a bike ride… or get your kids to show you something they’re excited about (besides cartoons).
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Those are 3 of the best ways to separate your work and personal life when you work from home.
Even if you try just one of these tomorrow…
It’ll start to transform your entire mindset.
When you stick to these principles you’ll enhance your focus, boost your energy, and have better, happier relationships.
I hope this helps you!
Success Loves Speed,
Craig |
