I used to feel like that. What about you? Do you have this feeling too? The eagerness to work some more?
I wouldn’t allow myself to relax, ever. My days would be crammed full, every minute I would have something to do. Even “relaxing” became an action item.
Exhausting!
Of course, this took its toll, and I burned out. Yet, it took me years to fully understand what I needed to do to let go of this “neediness to be busy”.
But once I got the hang of it, the rewards were immense. I felt less anxious, more relaxed and in control, and above all I enjoyed my life more. Because what I did, I did with intention, and I was fully there. I was no longer preoccupied, and my mind wasn’t wandering with all the other things I had yet to do.
If you ever have trouble switching off, whether it is getting out of your ‘work mode’ or having trouble to relax, here’s what to do.
How to stop your mind from thinking you need to do something
1. Recognize the feeling, the frenziness.
And see it for what it is, old programming of your mind that wants to keep you busy all the time. Rather, choose to be productive and know that to become more productive, you’ll now need to relax and not do.
2. Let it be, but don’t take action.
This may be the hardest part—not giving into the urge to start acting. Simply wait and the neediness, the anxiety will become less. What helps is to take a couple of deep breaths, and concentrate on your breathing.
3. Go somewhere where you know you’ll be able to relax more.
So, if you have been in the office the whole day, move away from your desk. If you can, go outside. But for me, often all I need to do is to stay put and let these waves of frenziness fade away.
4. Do something that relaxes you, other than work.
Yes, this may seem like a contradiction, but I personally haven’t mastered the “just be” yet; where you sit still and don’t do a thing. If you can, go ‘do’ that. Although I doubt that you would be reading my newsletter if you can “just be”. What does work for me is, reading, watching a movie, writing or being with my family and chatting to friends. It’s doing, but it’s me relaxing too.
5. Apply the emergency break.
If your mind keeps wandering and the need to “go back to work” is all-consuming, then I do advise you to do that. go work. But only for a limited amount of time. Say to yourself, I give myself 1.5 hours, and then I stop. And keep your word. Because if you break your promises to yourself, who can you trust?
6. Let yourself relax.
If you do have a lot to do still, you can always relax for a shorter while. I have found though, that once I allow myself to relax, it becomes easier to see the urgency flee of all the things that seemed urgent before. Especially when I spend time with my loved ones, because after all they are why I work in the first place. So being with them is my number one priority.
This has helped me to live a more balanced life, with doing great work and allowing myself to relax too.
Want to learn more about how you can switch off work, without missing out on achieving your goals? Send me a message because this is what my VIP coaching is designed to help you with: do more in less time, allowing you to reach your goals while also living a balanced life.
Be the CEO of your life, work less, do more,
Yvonne
Yvonne has a vast coaching experience from executives to teams to ambitious business owners.
Through her personal and business coaching programs she has helped dozens grow their businesses while drastically reducing their working hours.
And when Yvonne is not coaching, you can find her indulging in beach walks, and a sparkly glass of champagne.
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