Space between home & work

More and more of us work from home every day so all we have is a door between one world and another.  We leave a Teams meeting and we are straight into hearing about our kids' day at school or cooking supper. This can feel very discombobulating, we are having to do mental gymnastics.

In Brené Brown's latest book "Strong Ground" she uses a really strong metaphor which I have been using in coaching sessions.  Brown on a trip to London visited the lock at Teddington and met the lock keeper to ask questions of how the transition of water levels works. Locks are a method for canals and rivers to get boats up or down hill, you enter the lock and the water either rises or falls to let you carry onto your journey.  if for any reason the water was not level you would be incredibly unstable and may even capsize. 

She writes about how this is not so dissimilar to the transition we have to go through between work and home.  If we go straight out without as Brown says not properly locking off we run the risk of different water levels. 

This metaphor struck me really powerfully as I am a very visual learner and seeing the boats rising and falling  set the scene perfectly for working with clients.  Coaching is more effective if you can use an unrelated metaphor that is visibly powerful.  So for me explaining to a client that if you don't transition effectively between work and home you are damaging your mental well-being.

My solution as a Coach is to encourage my clients to set up a closing ceremony, so that they take their time to evaluate the day and feel that they have properly shut down.  I get them to think about rituals or routines that signify that moment that they are leaving work.

I also ask them to set up an opening ceremony, so that they start the day at the right water level.

My own experience of locking in and locking off, I have learnt post-Covid.  I have to be really disciplined in my routines and give myself a sense of control, otherwise I would be constantly doing stuff in the house e.g. washing and ironing.  I ensure I am locked in once I shut my office door, and equally when it opens albeit for a lunch break or the end of the day I am properly locked out. 

Practical ideas for locking in:-

• Journal (review of the day before)
• Write or type your to-do list (preferably without putting your computer on)
• Make yourself a coffee
• Look at your calendar
• Try not to open emails/Teams/slack etc... (this will take you into work before you are ready)

Practical ideas for locking off:-

• Shut down your computer
• Review your to-do list and highlight your achievements
• Journal (review of the day if you prefer doing at the end)
• Tidy your desk and declutter
• if possible, shut a door, if not ensure workspace is out of line of sight

We have overstimulated minds with so many  attractive and unattractive distractions.  Believe that you can take control of the transition, and set up some rituals and routines to make it smoother.

Framing is a choice decide how you want to Lock off and Lock in.