The number one question I am asked as a business mentor is how to switch off as a business owner. While I am not perfect at it myself, I have learned a few tricks over the years that do help me in my own businesses. Switching off is vital for your personal health and for the health of your family relationships, read on to see if any of these tips can help you.

How To Switch Off As A Business Owner

Start The Day With A Pause

For me switching off actually starts in the morning, it’s how I set my intentions for the day. I start my day with a walk, and a coffee with my husband in which all talk of our business, my business or his work are banned. It is a quiet and slow way to start my day that allows me to drop back into that calm space throughout the day when needed.

Peace is crucial for the ability to switch off, and for me to find the control required to switch off at the end of the day, I need to have started the day in peace.

Carry A Note Pad

We cannot stop our brains from thinking and when we ‘switch off’ from our business, they tend to continue on thinking about things we don’t necessarily want to think about. Instead of allowing my mind to wonder in those thoughts un-necessiarly, I carry a note book with me after hours.

I go as far as to keep this note book beside me in bed, that way if a pesky thought wont leave me alone, I can write it down and trust that it will be there the next day when I need it.

Have A Strategy Session At The End Of The Day

This is especially important for couples who while working together, might not see each other for most of the day. For the Builder and I, this is done at the end of the day, on the back deck with diaries in hand. We give each other a brief run down of our days, bring up an issues, schedule anything that is required, make any notes and we’re done.

It allows us to share all the information we need, without that information then spilling over into our family life. There are times of course in which we have forgotten something, or think of something later, however these go in the note pad until the morning.

Set A Finish Time For Your Work Day

While our working hours in small business are reasonably flexible, they tended to carry right into the night at times. Now we have a set finish time to our day to help prevent the spill over of business time into family time. I will admit this is the hardest of all the expectations I place on myself to follow.

As my Facebook feed is also part of my work, I have added that into my work finish time to ensure I don’t blur those boundaries. If you don’t feel you are up to date, write a list and come back to it tomorrow, I promise you will be fresher and more productive.

Create A Ritual For Your End Of Day Or Week

When we work for other people, especially outside of the home, we tend to have a ritual we follow at the end of the day. One thing I noticed about what I do, is that I don’t have that ritual at the end of the day, so the end of the day doesn’t really come and I feel like I’m still working at 9pm.

Not after my strategy session, I do a final check on my emails, shut down my computer, and clean my desk and walk away for the day. Try creating a ritual that works for your end of day, to give it some finality.

Keep A List

Regardless of where I am in my work day, every job or task goes onto my list. This helps me feel in control of where I am at in a day, and more importantly helps me be able to shut off at the end of the day knowing it’ll be there tomorrow.

These few tips have helped my learn how to switch off as a business owner, hopefully some of them can help you too.

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How do you switch off at the end of the day?

Nicole xxx