working from home

How to resist the temptation of working after office hours

James Carter
Authored by James Carter
Posted: Sunday, January 10, 2021 - 21:39

Once work hours are over, you need to stop working. Your company no longer pays you if you go beyond those hours. Unless you get extra pay, there's no reason for you to keep working. However, there are instances when you feel tempted to keep working. You want to get everything done, and you want to work beyond office hours. The worst part is that your health could get affected because of spending too much time working. You can buy an EMF protection pendant from www.lifeenergysolutions.com if you have to keep working on your electronic devices. When you’re at home, you shouldn’t use your devices for professional reasons. These are some tips to help you resist the temptation of working after office hours.

Make it a habit 

If you already made it a habit to keep working, it won't be easy to stop. However, if you gradually change your schedule, you will get used to it. Tell yourself that there's always another day to get things done. If not, you can work harder to finish a lot of things before the time is up. It's easier to get rid of this habit if you tell yourself to adjust. It doesn't matter if you still have many tasks to finish; you need to stop if you have to.

Spend time with your family

You might feel guilty that you no longer spend time with your family because you keep working after office hours. Even while working from home, you still end up spending more time than the usual office hours. This problem is within your control. If you want to spend more time with your family, you have to do it. Play with your children or assist them with their homework. You will forget about work once you start to spend more time with your family.

Inform your colleagues 

You can also avoid the temptation of working at home if you tell your colleagues not to call you or inform you about work. Explain to them your reason. It would help if you encouraged them to do the same. No one should continue working once the work hours are over. Even if you're the boss, it's still good to advise employees to only work during office hours.

Turn notifications off

You won’t feel tempted to work if you can’t see what’s pending. Try not to turn your notifications on. You won’t know if there are incoming emails and messages. You can deal with them the next day. When you see these messages on your notifications, you will feel tempted to respond to them and start working immediately. If you don’t, you won’t feel the need to do so.

Learn to reject calls 

There's nothing wrong if you reject calls from your colleagues after office hours. It's not unprofessional. You deserve to have time for yourself and your family members. Explain the reason why you didn't answer the call the next day. Unless it's an emergency, or you gave permission to call you in advance, there’s no reason to answer it.

With these tips, it's easier to avoid working from home, and instead spend your time wisely.

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