Welcome back, everyone! As we step into a long, holiday weekend, we wanted to remind you all to UNPLUG and enjoy the day(s) off. Especially as we round out warm weather, our ability to be outside, and extra time with friends and family, it’s especially important that you set boundaries with work and ensure a balance so that you can soak up the joy of the weekend. If you need some reminders or strategies to help you do so, keep reading below…

Let’s Chat: Unplugging over a Holiday!

• Set Boundaries in Advance: In order to truly achieve the goal of unplugging, it’s crucial to set yourself up for success by creating boundaries in advance. Whether this means limiting to checking your work apps only during certain hours, or a # of times throughout the day, set a restriction for yourself to follow! Implementing these goals will provide you with a sense of achievement and a “rule” to stay accountable.
  • Extra Tip: Many of us also have an early release today, so make sure to TAKE IT! There is no reason to ‘be a hero’ by staying on after everyone else has logged off. In fact, to contribute to work-life balance and your company culture, you should embrace these ‘little gifts’ from management and fully engage. If you’re being told to take an early start on the weekend, it’s for a reason, and it’s not a trick. So… log off!
• Make Plans! If you feel the same way as I do, that creeping feeling that settles in that you should be doing “more” occurs when lying in bed and unoccupied. For that reason, try to occupy yourself over the weekend by creating a schedule or set of plans to take action. Try out a picnic, in-home date night, movie night, art project, workout class, or other do-it-yourself activities to stay engaged outside of technology! If you aren’t near home, or close to friends or family, try out a new workout class, art class, comedy show, or other form of entertainment to take space in your ‘me time’! Feeling productive and accomplished can take several forms outside of work obligations, so remember to seek fulfillment outside of your job in order to truly balance your work-life routine.
• Maintain Open Communication With Your Team: If you’re ever feeling a sense of guilt, it may be a result of a difference between operating standards within your team or organization. Remember, just because your coworker or manager may stay online through all hours of the night does not mean that you must! Having an open communication plan where you let your manager know when you will and will not be reachable will relieve your sense of uncertainty, and therefore the ‘need’ to stay available at all times.
• Set Your Phone Down… Physically! For many of us, checking our phones has become so natural that we might not even realize we’re doing it. If that sounds like you, then you are highly recommended to physically put your phone down in order to remove any chance of plugging into your email or work apps. Make sure to be present during the important, meaningful times spent with friends and family…. and remember, work will always wait for you until you’re back!

Enjoy the Holiday Weekend, everyone!