Guest AuthorKavitha Hemanath
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Where is the OFF switch?

By | Kavitha Hemanath | An absolute advocate to being truly human | HR at Hexaware Technologies

Recently I asked a colleague, whether he is ever able to switch off the constant thoughts about work? Whether at the end of the work day, he is able to be truly present in the other parts of his life – a part where he isn’t constantly thinking about work, not have every free second worrying about that unresolved issue at work or always brainstorming on creative ideas for the new project!

His answer was NO.

It is an easy NO for most people these days. And I get it, I do because it is the same for me. Most of us are unable to draw a line and switch off our work mode! His response that followed was absolutely fascinating – he told me that there is little probability that one can truly not worry about work. So instead of trying to force draw that line, he consciously makes a choice to move from playing the character of an ‘employee’ to that of a ‘father’, ‘husband’, ‘son’ and the other roles in life.

I loved the simplicity of this solution. It reminded me of Shakespeare, “All the world’s a stage, all the men and women merely players; and one man in his time plays many parts”. If you are an artist, it is probably all the more effective for you!

Some of the other ways I have noticed people ‘switch off’ or ‘switch roles’ is:

  • Choosing to have a separate phone for work, one dedicated especially for work calls.
  • Some others choose not to have work mails on their phone so that the urge to constantly check mails is avoided.
  • I choose to have a dedicated work area, to sit and work only at my ‘work space’ and not bring work into my life spaces, this helps me draw that line, switching into the next role.
  • For all you readers out there, check out this book The Off Switch
  • If nothing else works, a set routine is supposed to do the trick!

There is also that handful of people who do not need to switch work off, they are effortlessly able to balance both, gliding in from one role to the other – the master artists! I hope to reach their level of cool someday.

Republished with permission and originally published at Kavitha Hemanath’s LinkedIn

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