Keys To Enjoy Free Time Without Thinking About Work

People with a great responsibility at work or a high level of stress may have a difficult time enjoying free time. And it is that, on many occasions, it  is difficult to disconnect from what we do during the week. The last argument with the boss or that meeting with a difficult client can lead us to eat our heads even in our moments of relaxation.

Therefore, more and more people need to learn to disconnect from work. In recent years, psychology has studied the best ways to achieve this. Thanks to this,  today we have a multitude of strategies to enjoy free time, preventing our head from returning to sit at our work station when we are not during working hours.

How to enjoy free time

Currently, there are many techniques that can help you enjoy your free time without work becoming an obstacle. However, some of the most supported by scientific evidence are the following:

• Use mindfulness.
• Reserve one space a day to stress yourself out. Yes, to stress you out!
• Set goals that have nothing to do with work.

Let’s see each one of them.

1- Use mindfulness

More and more people are interested in topics such as meditation or conscious control of attention. Thus, mindfulness collects precisely these objectives, providing interesting and complementary lines of work to achieve them.

But what exactly does this discipline consist of? In its most basic form, we speak of a “toolbox” that helps us pause and focus all our senses on what is happening now, in our closest environment. In this way, we are much more resistant to possible intrusive, recurring and negative valence thoughts that can erode our performance.

In addition, mindfulness aims to be the means that takes us away from anguish, suffering and especially from the worries generated by the anticipation of misfortunes. It returns us to the present, facilitating that, when we look back to the future, our gaze is not so skewed by a memory or a collection of specific memories. We can finally say that their tools are good to regain control of the situation, since where we can act and generate changes is in the present.

2- Reserve a space a day to stress yourself

The immediate psychic consequence of a continued connection to work is that  worry occupies practically all of our time. Thoughts about our obligations can become obsessive. Thus, enjoying free time becomes an almost impossible task: our mind never stops anticipating possible threats that we would have to face.

To avoid this problem, some specialists who move within the framework of ACT therapy recommend reserving one space a day to worry. The way to do it is as follows: for half an hour a day,  we will incessantly review all the elements that concern us about our work and we will design solutions.

This practice has a double positive effect. On the one hand, when we are trying to enjoy our free time and a worrying thought appears, we can say something like “I’ll think about this later.” On the other hand, after trying nonstop thinking about our problems for half an hour, we may realize that they are not really important enough to spend the time we are dedicating to them. After doing it for a couple of days in a row, the most normal thing is that you stop worrying so intensely.

3- Set goals that do not have to do with work

The human being needs goals. Therefore,  if you do not set goals outside the office , your attention and your mental resources will continue in the factory or in the office (no matter how much you physically leave). Thus, one of the most powerful ways to get rid of work stress is to find something that you are passionate about and that has nothing to do with your occupation.

The problem is that many of us are so tired after work that we just want to lie down to rest. Of course, there is nothing wrong with enjoying your free time in the way that suits you best. However, setting goals and trying to meet them can help make it more challenging.

So why don’t you try to get back to that hobby? Or maybe it’s the best time to start writing that story you’ve been thinking about for years. Although at first it may be difficult for you to be “productive” in your free time,  after a short time you will see your mood improve. In addition, your obsession with work will decrease enormously if you do not put all your illusions and worries in that basket.

The problem that we have dealt with in this article, taking into account that work has become a precious commodity, is very common. Not only do we spend many hours working, but we spend even more with our heads focused on work. In this article we have proposed some ideas for you to enjoy your free time more, away from the challenges that at that moment you cannot and do not have to solve. Now it’s up to you to start them up.