Switch From 'Work To Home' Mode Successfully With A Shut Down Ritual
Switch From 'Work To Home' Mode Successfully With A Shut Down Ritual
Create a clear physical and mental boundary to leave work behind
Easy access to devices, apps and people makes life more efficient but it's become a double-edged sword.
It's harder to disengage from work so it bleeds into our personal lives. We think nothing of ‘quickly checking email in case something needs my attention’, and feel relief after each hit.
The negative impact of this is stark - it affects how well we sleep, our relationships with others, and our ability to rest and recover for the next day.
Yet it has become so flipping normal.
I admit that I struggle with this myself, since I have a day job that covers global regions, and a coaching business that covers global regions.
The obligations feel heavy and pressing, but how much of this is driven by our own needs and unhealthy core beliefs and habits.
I'd say we have more control and agency over this than we realise so I'll share a framework in this post that I'm using and have used with my coaching clients.
This post is inspired by an email from the Ali Abdaal’s Daily Productivity newsletter which described the importance of having a Shut Down Ritual to boundary work and personal life.
Our need for permission blurs work-life boundaries
My clients consistently struggle with blurred boundaries between work and personal life.
Developing a Shut Down Ritual tailored to their work and life was key to giving them peace of mind and permission to move from one mode to another - work to personal.
I use the term ‘permission’ on purpose.
If you’ve been trained to have an employee mindset, whether you’re still an employee or not, you’ve been conditioned to get permission to do certain tasks.
Over the decades, we’ve gone from leaving the office and leaving the day behind so we could enjoy the evening, undertake hobbies or hang out with our pals, to checking our phones and joining Teams calls at 9-10pm so we can get things sorted for X time zone before they wake up.
It’s relentless!
Our work and personal lives are so intertwined that we unconsciously ‘need’ permission to log off and ignore work until the next day.
It feels like a treat or like we’re doing something we shouldn’t.
Being omni-available might be important in some roles, but we likely overplay our importance and how key we are to certain activities.
Research tells us that lack of appropriate rest drives reduced focus, impaired cognitive function and negative memory impacts.
It takes longer to get things done and perpetuating the cycle.
This makes it more important to establish a Shut Down Ritual to reduce the mental and physical health implications.
So what is it?
A Shut Down Ritual involves a series of steps to close out your workday. It’s not just about finishing tasks, but also preparing your mind to leave work behind. This ensures that you're not carrying the mental burden of tomorrow's to-do list into your personal time.
Daily Productivity Newsletter (Ali Abdaal)
How to set up a Shut Down Ritual
Here’s what one of my clients (SH) did to set up a Shut Down Ritual when they found it hard to get into family-life mode after a long work day.
SH found it hard to stop working at the end of the day, fit in exercise and spend time with their family when they wanted to.
They felt guilty if they didn’t finish everything on their do-to list but their longer work days were affecting their motivation and efficiency.
Look back and forward
They decided to create a 15 minute review activity at the end of the day and added this to their calendar so they had a scheduled reminder.
Their review activity contained the same questions which they logged in their notes app:
What did I complete today?
What did I not complete today?
What am I satisfied about today?
What did I learn today?
How will apply that learning to tomorrow?
Which strengths did I use today?
What am I excited about tomorrow?
Once they completed their review, they added timebox slots in their diary for the next day or the rest of the week to complete open tasks or actions.
This signalled to the brain that it doesn’t have to hold onto any dangling threads which haven’t been dealt with.
They also prioritised deeper work activities earlier in the day when they were more alert and focused.
Aligning your energy with your task types means you’ll complete them more efficiently and increase the odds you’ll complete.
How great would that be?
Tidy space, prepped mind
SH incorporated a tidying habit at the end of the work day. They closed files and apps not needed, shut down their laptop, and tidied up notebooks, stationery and other items on their desk.
This prepped the brain that it should get ready for a different set of activities.
Our brains are very context driven - if the environment or context changes, it starts to predict other perceptions that match what they expect to experience.
This makes us easier to distract (we notice new/different things in case they are important), but also offers a great way to shift habits by shifting physical and mental contexts.
Get it ready for something different to happen.
Transition and switch
SH had another goal to increase their physical activity and get fitter.
They had lost some of their standard activities during the pandemic but felt the physical and mental impact of not moving or exercising as much.
After trying (and not being able) to arrange gym classes as their end of day activity, they realised they could combine exercise with family connection.
Their transition task became taking a walk or going for a cycle ride with their daughter.
Not only would they get quality time with a loved one, but they could motivate and hold each other accountable for moving more.
Eventually they both went to gym classes together, which maintained and developed both coaching goals - step away from work more effectively and enjoy more family time.
Having a low entry physical transition activity helped them set up the habit within a few weeks, so ramping it up caused less friction than when they tried to go straight into this level.
Combine physical and mental cues to create better boundaries
In our final coaching session, SH was really pleased with their progress.
The early coaching sessions had some stop-start wins but by session 3, they were seeing the positive impact of having a Shut Down Ritual, aligning work to energy levels, and spending more time with family.
They were more efficient and happier at work and more satisfied in their personal life.
Use the steps below to create your own Shut Down Ritual:
Look back and forward:
Carve out (and protect!) 10-15 minutes at the end of your work day and answer a set list of questions to review progress and prioritise next steps.
Add some personal questions to this list so you connect more deeply and spot trends that impact how you feel or the strengths you use.
This helps you switch off from open actions from the day as you’ve mentally dealt with them.
Tidy space, prepped mind:
Get your brain ready by updating your environment and context.
This provides visual and mental cues that prep you to move from work mode to the next mode.
You’ll be more efficient when you get to your desk the next day and don’t have to spend 15 minutes faffing with cables, pens and devices.
Transition and switch:
Pick a specific activity or task that moved into life mode.
Make it fun and engaging and easy to recognise e.g. go for a walk, listen to a specific song, complete a hobby or class.
Combine it with a social or personal connection activity so you’re more likely to do it, and enjoy it.
By creating physical and mental activities to switch from one mode to another, you’ll transition more easily and give yourself the break and fun you need.🚀
What will you include in your Shut Down Ritual? Share in the comments below.
Let me know what you're keen to learn or talk about in the comments or on chat.
This is your space too, so let's enjoy it together.
Great and important ways to find inner peace again. Thank you, Sabrina!