Dec 12 2008
Keep The Business Out Of Your Family Time
This is not to say that your kids can’t help out with tasks within your business, I am thinking much more along the lines of not bringing business into your time with family.
One too many times I have allowed my work stress and work frustrations to come with me once I walk away from the computer. That is simply not fair to my family. When I am cantankerous and unhappy over something I was working on, it’s not fair to pass that on when interacting with everyone else.
No one is perfect and we all get frustrated once in a while. When was the last time you let a bit of that irritation over something you were dealing with within your business come with you when you walked away? Were you a little extra snippy and impatient? This is exactly why we need to leave it behind! We, as in me and you.
I think sometimes we forget to shut down those frustrations until the next time we load them back up. It can be hard, we don’t have an on/off switch working our emotions. There is one thing I have learned from my own experience, though… Once I find that trick to turn off work and move back to mom, everyone is much happier.
I can’t tell you how you should turn off business frustrations and move into mommy but I can tell you how I have managed it. See, I handle all of my work email using Mozilla Thunderbird. ONLY my work email lands in there. The instant I open that program, I go into work mode. I handle those emails that need my attention and it stays open for the length of time I find myself working. The instant I decide it’s time to take a break or walk away, I close it. The ability to close out my work email has given me the opportunity to shut it out completely until the next time I step back into that mental work mode.
In many cases the physical ability to shut something down or walk away has been enough for people to leave the frustrations of a business or work behind but it doesn’t work for everyone. If you find yourself sitting in a situation where you can’t seem to walk away from business frustrations, see if there is another way you can work on shutting it off until it is time to concentrate on it again. If you work on a laptop, literally close it when you’re done with work for the day. If you work in your home, close the office door when you are taking a break.
If you already have a system that works for you, share it with us in the comments. 
Photo Credit: Jake Sutton
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3 Responses to “Keep The Business Out Of Your Family Time”
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I’ve tried to be good about not bringing stress home with me, but my company is really putting the squeeze on those who are capable to produce more. It doesn’t help that others are just outright lazy. That being said, I’ve been quite stressed lately and have been irritable at home. I don’t have a wife and kids yet, but my girlfriend has noticed as has my family.
I think the best way to get over this, which is what I’m working on, is to establish boundaries and try to re-prioritize. Otherwise, I feel like letting my people know they’ll be seeing less off me for a period of time sets expectations accordingly. Although, I suppose that doesn’t work if you’re a mom
FarandSavage:
Actually, that’s a wonderful idea! I can’t do that with family, but I have done that one or twice with friends.
This is a totally necessary and wonderful post. Thank you for sharing, I will too. Will tweet!