Work Days #1

Do you check work or business emails over the weekend? 

How much time do you spend scrolling through those emails and hitting reply or adding stress that takes away from your weekend relaxation? How many of those emails can truly WAIT until Monday?

If you take a minute or two and think about it, all of those emails can indeed wait until Monday. 

The person on the other end is not sitting and waiting to get your reply… They more than likely are doing what you need to be doing: ENJOYING the weekend.

With more people working remotely or hybrid it has become harder to be able to turn off “work mode.

The constant grind mode is not something we need to be chasing. If your employer has you convinced that being an email checking machine, even on your off time, it is time for a reset. 

Please know:

Your boss is not going to give you perks for being a 24/7 email checker.

If it is urgent, the sender of the email can figure out how to get in touch with someone who can help.

You DESERVE a break, and you need to take it.

At work, you check emails all day long, and many of those emails may contribute to your work stress. So why are you checking those emails during your off hours?

When you sign off at the end of your shift, your work email needs to shut off too. 

Disclaimer: This does not pertain to those who are in certain professions like law enforcement, doctors, etc. Yes, some folks do not have the option to log off all the way. And that is understandable. 

For those of us who can log off, we need to take those opportunities seriously. When a day off approaches, it more than likely does not mean you get to sit and eat bonbons and do nothing at all.

Our off days are filled with doing all these things: 

Housework, grocery shopping, running errands, yard work, laundry, kids' events, family events…..

The list can go on and on. 

This long list is even more reason as to why we need to be strategic about making sure, when we are on off hours, that we are not spending it checking emails that can wait until we get back to work.

And you are not going to get paid to check a work email on your own time- you will get worked up and stressed, and that does not contribute positively to your retirement fund.

When your workday ends: 

Shut off all notifications for work emails- especially if they come to your phone (I do not recommend having your work email on your phone)

Set your out-of-office message- yes, do this anytime you are out of office, even if it is only for a few hours- this shows people that a reply will not be immediate.

If you use your computer for personal use, shut down the work email so that when you log in again, that work email is not on your screen.

It is absolutely important that you work on setting boundaries for yourself so that you are not constantly in work mode. Being able to log off and attempt to relax is more important than I can put into words. 

There was a time in my life when I was checking email, checking results, and working on my off time, and it did ABSOLUTELY nothing positive for me. It was a stressor. 

Making these adjustments may be uncomfortable at first, but you will be so glad that you have made the choice to let those emails wait until you return to work. 

Enjoy your off time.