Clear your mind

Clear your mind

Putting your thoughts in the drawer with the rest of the paperwork just in time for the end of work and going home with a clear head to enjoy your well-deserved evening off – it would be nice! Those who are forced to deal with tasks, demands and expectations of others all morning and afternoon can’t just put away the stressful thoughts because it’s officially the end of work. Instead, we’re still thinking about the meeting at work during the car ride home, at dinner, during leisure activities, and when we go to bed, and we just can’t seem to clear our heads. We’ll show you a few simple tips on how to let go of those nagging thoughts after work, switch off and relax into sleep. Clear your mind with us!

The end of the day means the end of work!

TIP 1: SET CLEAR BOUNDARIES

When you get home, all you want to do is write a very important email, finish a presentation, and while you’re at it, prepare for the next three weeks? No more of that! That’s not how clearing your head works. You’ve earned your time off, so use those few free hours in the day to relax and unwind. If it’s unavoidable that you have to work after work, set a time when you’re really done and stick to it. Unfinished tasks can wait until tomorrow and no project that you start late in the evening will succeed to your satisfaction.

TIP 2: TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY

If you find it difficult not to continue working after work because you are afraid of forgetting important thoughts until tomorrow, make a list on which you note down which projects you will dedicate yourself to tomorrow and write down thoughts that you do not want to forget. As soon as the thoughts are on paper, you’ll be able to get them out of your head better knowing that they won’t be lost. Making a to-do list for the next day is a great ritual to ring in the end of the day. So instead of obsessing over work tasks after hours, put them off until tomorrow, because that’s what work time is for and – as nice as it would be – tasks don’t run away from you!

TIP 3: BANISH ALL WORK MATERIALS

Out of sight, out of mind – when you’re surrounded by your laptop, work phone and to-do lists on the couch, it’s not surprising that it’s hard to switch off and clear your mind. So get rid of it! Move everything that reminds you of work to another room and create work-free zones for yourself. This way, the temptation to look at work documents again is smaller. In addition, the couch – or wherever you like to relax – becomes a place you associate with relaxation. If you stick to this tip for a few weeks, you’ll soon automatically get into relaxation mode when you lie down on the couch.

Clear your mind? Let off steam first!

TIP 1: SPORT TO UNWIND

Coming home from a stressful day at work, forgetting all your worries and work thoughts and switching off from now on is quite a lot to ask. So first, actively do something about it to relieve stress and avoid problems falling asleep. Physical exercise is a great way to loosen up and get rid of inner turmoil. If you go for a jog and work out, you’ll be more balanced and find it easier to calm down. You’re a real sports muffle or don’t have time to go for a jog every day? No problem! Then take ten minutes and go for a walk. Here’s a tip: exercising or going for a walk alone does the most good for sorting yourself out and calming down.

TIP 2: AVOID ALL STRESS AND AGITATION FACTORS

Take five minutes to think about what causes you stress or inner turmoil and eliminate these activities from your evening routine. What you should avoid at all costs is drinking coffee after work or using too many digital media. Coffee wakes you up, and LED screens with their bluish light also make you feel jittery in the evening and make it harder to get to sleep. To get a clear head means: to identify and avoid all factors that cause inner restlessness through too much hectic and excitement! If looking at the alarm clock makes you nervous, you can also try a sleep phase alarm clock.

TIP 3: SPEAK UP!

Your colleagues delegate their tasks to you in order to relieve themselves, the coffee machine is broken, although you keep your eyes open with the last of your strength because you are tired, and then the boss comes to nag you? Sometimes you experience days at work when you could scream with rage. If you have a disagreement with your colleagues, it’s best to talk to them the same day and tell them what you think, so that you feel a little less burdened and don’t spend the whole evening thinking about how unfairly you were treated. If you’re at home and still can’t forget the disastrous day at work, call your boyfriend, girlfriend, mom, dad, brother or sister and have a good cry – it’s liberating and that’s what friends and family are for!

Let the relaxing part of the evening begin!

TIP 1: RELAXATION EXERCISE

You don’t think much of yoga and meditation? Give this exercise a chance anyway! Lie down on the floor, make yourself comfortable and if you like, close your eyes. Now start to notice everything very carefully and work your way from the tips of your toes to your hairline. Notice if you feel any tingling in any part of your body, which parts of your body are touching the surface you are lying on, how each region feels, etc. Then analyze your surroundings a bit, noticing every sound or flicker of light. This is “just” a mindfulness exercise – but feels like a short relaxation trip!

TIP 2: CLEAR YOUR MIND – THE MAGIC THOUGHT

If you’ve tried everything to get a clear head but nothing has worked and it’s hard to fall asleep, invoke the following thought: you’ve done everything in your power to do your job reasonably and tomorrow is another day. The point is this: Whatever went wrong or could go wrong tomorrow, there’s nothing you can do about it now! So you might as well go to sleep and gather energy to tackle tomorrow and not have to fight your fatigue anymore. So close your eyes and think to yourself: Tomorrow is a new day, but for now it’s bedtime!