Switch off from work: So you come across well
From A to B come. That sounds easy at first. Take the bus. You walk. You just do it. But honestly, it does not matter if we leave for the office in the morning, after work in the afternoon or in the evening at home for a friends meeting - there is this strange moment, a mixture of sluggishness and hustling. We do not want to leave, do a thousand things. And then race at the last minute.
Why are we dealing so heavily with transitions? Well, it's just comfortable traveling on in the river we're swimming in. Because in every new environment we have to adjust with our senses, mind and body, run in the morning in the office as warm as our computer. When we are at operating temperature, we want to stay. The longer we do something, the bigger the sluggishness.
The crux: In intermediate zones our stress level is usually highest. The way we get from A to B therefore strongly influences how stressed we are in general. "Anyone who copes with biotope change quietly and incorporates more buffer time is much more relaxed in life," explains Helen Heinemann from the Hamburg Institute for Burnout Prevention. Seven situations and how they work out well:
The classic: From the job to work
The situation: Actually, we wanted to end at 18 clock. But then we still write three mails and do a few phone calls. And the next time you look at the clock, it's already past seven. Reason for sticking to the office chair is a tangible hormonal imbalance: Through the active working day are in the body particularly many stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol on the way. In the afternoon we are like on drugs, working on intoxicating, just can not find the jump. This helps: Even if it sounds paradoxical: make more breaks during the day, then you can go lighter in the evening. Because if we put 10 to 15 minute breaks into the day over and over again, we can reduce stress - and we can look at the clock and leave the workplace at six with a clear head. But clearly ... At first, you are probably quite upset, because the level of stress hormone in the blood is generally elevated among frequent workers. Then sport helps, for. B. Half an hour of running or swimming.
The Extreme: From Job to Children's Afternoon
The situation: Get out of school or day care 15 minutes before the pick-up time, before quickly stuff "Star Wars" cards, spelled biscuits and the project application that has stayed behind into your pocket. Working mothers are often in the transition between work and child time just before the nervous breakdown. Due to the usually short working time it comes before the end to the extreme compression of tasks. We work faster and faster - the transition to the slowmotion of the children's afternoon is even more difficult. "We underestimate the cultural change from the job world to the parent world," says expert Heinemann. This helps: Build a solid transition ritual. A buffering time that only belongs to you. Break up fifteen minutes earlier. Walk to the daycare, listen to two or three songs in the car, or go for an espresso in the café. Important: The mini ritual should be fun without restriction. But clearly ... It is not easy. The trick: see the transition ritual as working time. And be clear: The afternoon with children is much more relaxed. Promised.
Underrated: From work week to weekend
The situation: Most couples split up at the weekend. Other crises often get worse. Because it's time to ponder, talk and argue. But also because with the beginning of the Friday evening, the expectation of life is rising rapidly. On Friday night we make a to-do list: Barbecuing with friends, cleaning out the kitchen shelf and painting, as much sex as possible, walking. Now everything that happened during the week should happen. But that's not possible. This helps: Extremely clear the timetable for the weekend, shut down expectations. Here, too, an info on the hormone level: If we sail on Friday evenings frilly with adrenaline through the night, we feel Saturday morning often tired and exhausted. Who then becomes gloomy or belligerent: Do something for half an hour. Go to the weekly market or to the sport. After that, the lousy mood is usually gone. But clearly ... Weekend is no longer automatically means that we have free. That's okay too. According to psychoimmunologists, we still need one day a week on which we have nothing on the list. So: Make sure you have a Sunday. Does not matter when.
The deep-seated: From work to vacation? and back
The situation: Even if we want to jump headfirst into the holiday phase like in a hotel pool - the first holiday week is usually a shutdown process.Only gradually, the stress hormones say goodbye, not infrequently you feel a bit sick during the first few days of your vacation. Because especially in the last week before the holidays we fall easily into a rushed completion mode. That we can not switch off immediately after such a stress node is completely normal. The neuroscientist Marcus Raichle has found out that there is a so-called resting network in the brain, which is always active when we relax. It is responsible for ideas, plans and remembering, and is particularly active shortly after hard working phases.
This helps: Buffer best on both sides. That is, do service the week before your vacation. Pass only the most important three projects to a colleague, say goodbye in time to the all-must-do-claim. On holiday, you can then support the relaxation with mindfulness exercises: for example, look at any flower like the seventh wonder of the world, feel the feet with every step in the sand. With such exercises, the over-excited brain comes to rest more quickly. But clearly ... Coming back to work as a fully recovered summer hippie, however, also has its pitfalls. We are slowed down, would like to finish work at noon. Then it's good to start projects in the first week that require creative thinking. Because that's the best way to rest!
The Hard: From teamwork to solitary work
The situation It is everyday work for project workers and freelancers. But everyone else knows the transition from turbulent, energetic teamwork phases back to the lonely job mill or in a longer idle time. Then often comes the blues, for example, after an exam. It has been fully committed to one thing, focused on it - and neglected everything else. Many create the missing structures and the sudden radio silence. No wonder that in such situations we constantly stare at the phone like a lovesick teenager and first have to find our way back to ourselves.
This helps: "Step down," advises therapist Helen Heinemann. For example, the first "step" could be an extensive shopping spree, with which you can reward yourself for the power in the power work phase. The second step: a sports or sauna day where you can really feel your body. Third step: take a little trip with your girlfriend. The more ritualized the "auxiliary step" is, the better. But clearly ... Parting is difficult for many people. If you're struggling with loss fears or you prefer to avoid leaving, you can easily get into a real downside after a hard-working teamwork session. Then it helps to officially say goodbye to everyone in the short-term team. Important: Only with the colleagues phone numbers that you really like. This increases the chances of keeping the contact.
The Verpeilte: From the working day to the couple's evening
The situation If you live alone, it's easier. Even when you are tired, you make an appointment, get dressed nicely. It gets harder for couples who live together, have children. The transition to the end of work is then hardly tangible: He nods at the baby bed, she sits at the computer. At half past ten you meet in the hallway. Only those who are quick, awake or very in love, grab the mini-chance, make a joke or throw a look that bridges the gap to Date mode. Often it does not succeed: Then there is the moment, which could become a smooth transition, but unfortunately we miss him too often and shuffle past each other.
This helps: Planning and spontaneity. Sounds weird. But this is how it works: Set up evenings to date, whether at home or for the cinema. On the other evenings everyone makes something for themselves. If you meet in the hallway and make a connection, so much the better. The odds are good because the "Why do not we ever do something together" charge is gone. But clearly ... Opportunities often remain unused, not only in relationships. The motivational psychologist Gabriele Oettingen has found out that we reach sporting or personal goals sooner if we use short gaps and idle laps immediately. Who then runs, calls the best friend, kisses the dearest, has already got a lot - and thus mastered another difficult transition: from pause-muffle to pause-pro.
The inevitable: from Sunday to Monday
The situation: Meetings, tightly scheduled appointments, telephone calls. The Monday morning is often very hectic - but we are still in the slightly slowed weekend groove. In fact, about a third of all workers find it hard to get the same performance after the weekend. The reason is a mini-jet lag: We go to bed on Fridays and Saturdays later than usual, are not tired on Sunday evenings, watch endless TV and then start tired on Monday in the week. This helps: At least one weekday before midnight to go to bed. This is how we stay in our biorhythm. Tip for party enthusiasts: Get up early Sunday morning. Then you will sleep in the evening after the "crime scene" guaranteed deep and tight - and are fit again on Monday morning.
But clearly ... The little sting we feel on Sunday afternoons when we think of Monday for the first time is just inevitable. Strangely, a mini-work ritual often helps to prepare something for half an hour, to sort documents, etc. Important: Make this transition beautiful. Whether with a cappuccino on the computer or with books in the garden - so you smuggle a dose weekend into the work week.
