Being present once I come home. It has been one of my biggest challenges since going back to work after having my son almost 2 years ago. I struggled to disconnect from work and be present when I was home with them.
Don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing better than coming home at the end of the day to that sweet wittle face. But, I still found myself checking my phone, firing off emails and just sitting around thinking about work when I should have been playing with my boy.
I only get so many precious hours with him each night during the week and I found that work thoughts were creeping into my headspace during our time together.
I realized that this was going to become a problem if I didn’t make it a priority to unplug each day. And the best way I knew to do that? Use my commute.
Now my commute is 35 minutes each way, so I have pleeennntttyyy of time to shut off from work and be present by the time I walk in the door at home.
You don’t need 35 minutes. You probably only need 5 – as long as you use your commute to disconnect from work. This is what has worked for me and I’ve noticed a huge different in my ability to be present at home.
Before leaving work, create your to do list for the following day
15 minutes before walking out the door at work, think through and write down your action plan for the following day. Get my weekly productivity template which is designed specifically so this!
Think through your highest priority tasks and on a to-do list put them first along with anything else you want to accomplish for the following day. Include preparation time you may have for upcoming meetings.
Be specific! For example, don’t write down ‘prepare for Project X meeting’. This is pretty vague and could mean anything. You’ll immediately need to figure out what you meant by that the next day when you read it on your action plan. Instead, write down the action items you need to accomplish to consider yourself prepared for your meeting. List the documents you need to print and review ahead of time, reference the PowerPoint you need to put together, or the list of questions you want to create that you want answered before the meeting ends.
If you want to improve your productivity and leave work at home, you’ll LOVE this post!
By outlining a clear action plan for the following day, you are giving yourself the freedom to disconnect from work when you walk out the door. You already know what you need to tackle first and their priority level. Now that you’ve done this work, there’s no need to be thinking through these things on your ride home, while playing with your kids or lying in bed later that night.
Give yourself permission to disconnect
Listen to a podcast on the way home that is NOT work related. Allow yourself time to redirect your attention and disconnect from work before walking in the door
Make it about a topic you find fun or interesting. There are thousands of podcasts out there, I’m sure you’ll be able to find one that peaks your interest.
I’ve listed just a few from my podcast library here. Download them wherever you get your podcasts.
For news and politics:
Stay Tuned with Preet with Preet Bharara
For motivation and/or interesting topics:
TED Radio Hour
Radiolab
Freakonomics Radio
For celebrity interviews:
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
ID10T with Chris Hardwick
Schedule or manually enable the ‘Do Not Disturb’ feature on your phone when you get home
When you walk in the door, enable the ‘Do Not Disturb’ feature on your phone. When enabled, this will silence inbound calls and notifications. You’ll remove the distraction of incoming end of day work emails.
Need another push to put your phone down? Leave it in a different room or have it charging in a spot that is far enough away that you won’t feel compelled to check it. If you regularly use your phone for recipes, use another device like an ipad or have a laptop handy. Do not cheat and open your work email until your kids are in bed (if at all).
As working moms, we are always being pulled in two directions. We’re supposed to not think about our kids all day at our jobs and not be thinking about our jobs when we’re home with our kids. It’s kind of impossible. But taking those opportunities to disconnect from work are vital. I would encourage everyone to give it a shot — it’s worked for me!
To the working mamas out there. What do you do to disconnect and be in the moment with your kids when you get home? Leave a comment below and let me know what works for you!
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