Part of being human is the flaw that sometimes we bring work stress home with us. We don’t want to, but it happens. And, unfortunately, when we bring that stress and unhappiness home, we share it with (or take it out on) the people we love the most. 

If you find yourself short-tempered at home around your friends and family, knowing full well they didn’t cause it, take a moment to close your eyes and breathe deep. Try to reset and regain control of your emotions. If you find it happening over and over again, it’s time to consider making a few changes in your daily routine to help separate your work stress from your home life. 

Consider these steps to help leave your work stress behind. 

• Write it out. If you leave work every day thinking about all the tasks that didn’t get completed that day and will be waiting for you in the morning, do yourself a favor before you leave: Write a to-do list for the next day. Try to prioritize it before you leave, with the item most important to complete the next working day at the top of the list, in descending order of need. If it would help, break down larger items into smaller steps to help make the tasks more manageable. By taking your to-do list out of your mind and putting it on paper, you’re freeing up mental space for other, more pleasant thoughts. 

• Use your commute to start to wind down. Whether you walk, drive or take public transit home, use that time between leaving work and getting home to start to relax. Listen to some songs you like, or a podcast that puts you in a good mood. If you’re not driving, use the time to read a book or just look out the window and daydream. Shifting your mindset between locations can help you create some space between any stress you felt at work that day. 

• Start looking ahead. We know that our weekdays, from mid-morning until late afternoon (typically) belong to our jobs. But the hours before and after work, and on weekends, those are yours to spend as you’d like! Why not take a little break during the work day, or on your way home, to think about something to look forward to. Maybe it’s a fun day at the movies, or a game night with your family. If there are friends you haven’t seen in a while, maybe it’s time to call them up and get dinner. Having things to look forward to can brighten the darker times. 

• Know when to put the work down. If your job sometimes requires you to do work from home, or answer calls from managers or supervisors, you might need to set boundaries and hours during which you are not available outside of a dire emergency. Your managers likely wouldn’t want you taking personal calls or dealing with family matters during the work day; why should you handle work matters during your personal time? It’s healthy to have boundaries between your work life and your home life; that all important work-life balance helps keep you present and focused in each part of your day. 

• Use your time wisely. If you have vacation time coming, and you find yourself getting more stressed out each passing day, you might be experiencing the early stages of burnout. Burnout can leave a person feeling tired, confused, irritable, stressed and lacking in focus. The best way to address this is to take some time away from work, even just a day, to help give yourself a rest. Spend that day doing something that makes you happy, something that helps you relax, to help take the edge off. Taking a day off to address your mental health is just the same as taking a day off when you have a bad cold or the flu — health is health! 

Do your best to keep work stress at work and to focus on the love and support of your family and friends when you’re with them. Try to find time for fun and relaxing activities when you’re at home and you might be surprised how much more present and productive you are at work! 

But if you’ve tried setting boundaries and minimizing the stress you bring home, but nothing seems to help, maybe it’s time to consider other options. If you’re interested in changing jobs, why not give Davis Staffing a call? Take a look at the opportunities we have available, see which ones might be a good fit for you, then talk with our recruiters about your experiences. We’ll help you find a great new job that will improve your work-life balance! When you’re ready to make a change, it’s time to call Davis Staffing.