Closing Time
Closing time
Time for you to go out to the places you will be from
Closing time
This room won't be open 'til your brothers or your sisters come
So gather up your jackets, move it to the exits
I hope you have found a friend
Closing time
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end
Lyrics of Closing Time by Semisonic
I recently watched an old episode of the American sitcom, The Office (“Doomsday”, episode 6, Season 8, 2011) and just couldn’t get the catchy rendition of Closing Time sung by one of the characters, Andy Bernard, out of my head. Andy, the new manager of Dunder Mifflin, a small paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, wanted to help his employees bring closure to the end of their work day by singing this song. If you are curious, you can watch the clip here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buvF_qOEh3E&ab_channel=TheOffice
(Let me know if the catchy song stays in your mind long after you have heard it!)
To quote Andy Bernard from the video clip, “Every office needs an “end of the day” tradition. Something to tell you the day’s over. Otherwise you go home and the night just feels like more day.”
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
This statement definitely makes sense when we used to commute to work during the pre-Covid days. We physically left our offices, rushed to get home in our respective mode of transportation and resolve to leave our work concerns and issues at the doorstep of our homes. I took the train to my office back then and the commuting time was close to an hour. My end of day routine was to listen to music in the train or if I’m lucky enough to find a seat, I’ll read a few pages off my chosen book of that month. Once I’ve arrived at the station near my home, I would drop by the nearest supermarket to pick up some groceries or buy snacks for my children. It’s a nice way for me to unwind and separate my work day from my home life.
However, all of our end of day routines have changed since the start of the pandemic last year with lockdowns and restrictions worldwide. Boundaries have blurred as we work in our bedrooms, kitchens, dining area and gardens. Our roles have also changed. Apart from being employees or business owners, we are also teaching our children at home and being the housekeeper and caregiver all at the same time. We don’t shut off from work even if we switch off our computers and leave our desks. We seem to be connected and accessible to everyone all the time because we are home all the time. Carrying on like this the way we have been doing drains our energy and spirit.
What can we do to find our end of day routine again?
I came across this interesting article by Deborah Bright on letting go at the end of the workday published in Harvard Business Review in 2017. You can read it here (https://hbr.org/2017/11/how-to-let-go-at-the-end-of-the-workday). Although the article was written before any of us could have ever imagined that the entire world’s population would end up working from home, there are still useful tips from this article which we can apply today to create clearer boundaries between work and home in our lives.
Her suggested 5 steps of letting go of your work day concerns and “switching off” are:
Do one small task
Finish up one last email, make one final phone call to a client or writing up the last paragraph of your proposal - just do something small that creates a sense of achievement. A small win that will leave you feeling good about yourself. In the context of working from home, we can still practise this and the rewards for your small wins might be to spend 20-minutes playing basketball with your son, tending to the flowers in your garden or just having some quiet time to meditate.
Write a to-do list
I’m not proposing a long to-do list. Just a few items that you need to tend to the next day. Drawing up the list will help put your mind at ease and hopefully, take away the stress of over-thinking what needs to be done the next day. Every time you find yourself worrying about it, just remind yourself that it’s in your list and it can wait until tomorrow.
Straighten up your work area
I hope that by now, you have a designated work space at home which will help in creating that physical boundary between work and home. The act of tidying up your work space also provides you with a sense of accomplishment. Personally, a clean desk gives me comfort as I tend to be a “neat-freak” although my son prefers his “organised chaos”. Do whatever works for you to carry out this symbolic act of wrapping up your work day, keeping it light and fun!
Choose a specific act to symbolize the end of the work day
The author suggested, “Locking your office door, turning off your monitor, or calling home. Consistent use of this designated anchor will enable you to take control of your emotions and shift your mental state, just as if you were clocking out on a timesheet.” What has worked well for me is the powering down of my laptop and storing it away. As I wait for it to shut down, I focus on thinking about spending time with my kids or writing in my gratitude journal later at night. This little exercise helps me “leave” my work space and move into my home space.
Start your evening on a positive note
Think about what you can do to start your after-work hours on a positive note. I know there is a tendency to veg and tune out by scrolling social media posts or watching your favourite shows on Netflix. However, see if you can think of ways to re-connect with family members or reach out to a close friend for a short chat. I look forward to my evenings when I get to spend one-on-one time with each of my 3 children and have a catch-up chat with my husband when he returns from his work place. And yes, we occasionally veg in front of our TV as well!
As the pandemic is gradually being controlled, people are now starting to return to their offices and adapting to changes in their routines again. Whether you are that person or will still continue working from home, an end of day routine that works for you will keep you centred and at peace. If you are struggling to keep clear boundaries between work and home and want support to create defined divisions between the two, reach out to me here to schedule a complimentary 30-minutes call to discover how coaching can help you.
“Part of the beauty of remote work is being able to work on a schedule that works best for you, but if you’re online and working at all hours, you’ll start burning out quickly. We’ll need to build clear rules around how technology can be used to help us maintain those boundaries for work-life balance.”
