Coordinating appointments, completing meeting marathons, writing emails, and dealing with new tasks is part of everyday working life for many people. No wonder that, after such packed working days, our thoughts often still revolve around the job.

Overloaded? Recognize the warning signals

Intensive periods of work are stressful, but do not necessarily cause problems. The situation only becomes a worry when such periods are the rule rather than the exception. You can tell if you are constantly overworked by taking a step back and looking at your working life from a little distance. The following are warning signs of too much stress: Your to-do list is constantly growing and you can never complete it. You have accumulated a lot of overtime, but can’t take any time off in lieu because of the constant workload. You are increasingly putting off leisure activities that you enjoy because of work. And if your private conversations revolve almost exclusively around work, your working life has become overly important.

Physical symptoms such as digestive problems, back, neck or shoulder pain, occasional dizziness or even tinnitus are also alarming signs of excessive stress. It becomes especially concerning when sleep problems occur due to work-related thoughts. In such cases, you should put your health first and focus on a healthy work-life balance. Human beings need distance and rest to regenerate and remain efficient. The more effectively you distract yourself from work-related issues, the better for your well-being. The following tips will help you attain a degree of distance from work.

Tip 1: Write things down

Before you leave work, make a to-do list for the next day. This will help you structure your thoughts and let go of work-related issues after hours. Not having to remember all the tasks that you have to do also has a liberating effect. In addition, it can occasionally be good for your mental health to write down not only the tasks at hand, but also your own worries. This helps you to reflect and to be able to process stress better.

Another tip is to turn destructive thoughts into positive ones. Rather than “I can’t cope with all of this,” think in small steps. By setting specific, achievable tasks to be completed the next day, your to-do list will gradually shorten and the stress will be reduced.

Tip 2: Establish transition rituals

Rituals that help you transition from your working day to your personal life will help you gain distance. It’s often the small, everyday habits that make the difference here. For example, as your last job before you leave for the day, make sure you tidy your desk. This is a visual reminder that your work is done for the day. Another effective ritual can be to take a walk in the fresh air after work. Don’t use the nearest train station to get home, for example, but walk to the one after it, or deliberately park your car or bike some distance away from your work. If you work from home, close your laptop and walk round the block once. This not only gives your body some fresh air, but also creates mental distance from work by seeing the outside world.

Tip 3: Apply relativization techniques

In stressful periods at work, it is important to keep a cool head, even if that is not always easy. Re-evaluating stressful work situations at the end of a day can be a help in coming down and approaching challenging situations more calmly in the future. So visualize a hectic situation you have been through and rate the stress factor on a scale of 1 to 10: What score would you have given it at the time and what stress rating would you give it now, looking back on it? Example: Was it really that bad that your planning document arrived on your boss’s desk ten minutes late because of a paper jam in the printer? At work, this situation may have felt like a 7/10. Now, with distance, you may come to the conclusion that it was only a 4/10 – after all, your boss was still stuck in a meeting and you had sent in the digital version on time. Such conclusions and re-evaluations will help you stay calmer in the future. This relativization technique also helps you to let things go faster.

Tip 4: Be active offline

Take switching off literally: Turn off your work computer and set aside your work cell phone, just as you do your personal cell phone when you are in work. Although social media offers the temptation of quick distraction, it can also often be an unsatisfying waste of time. Real activities and experiences can be more fulfilling: For example, make time to meet people in person and avoid conversations about work. Offline hobbies like crafting or DIY not only encourage creativity, but can also help you focus your concentration on things away from work and relieve stress. Exercise is another tip for clearing your head: Physical activity not only relaxes the neck and back after a long day at your desk, it also promotes mental health.

Tip 5: Share worries

In times when the cycle of stress and worry seems to spin incessantly, it is essential not to fall silent and try to cope with everything on your own. Sharing with friends, colleagues and even supervisors can be a great relief. The focus here should not be on your work, but on your feelings about your work. In such conversations, realizing that other people understand you and may have already had similar experiences can be a great relief. Interaction of this sort helps to work out solutions and to develop strategies for coping better with everyday professional life.

Professional support, whether through coaching or therapy sessions, can also be useful for dealing with stress more effectively in some cases. As a result, you can gain new perspectives and learn strategies to meet the challenges of working life in a more effective and healthier way.

Tip 6: Establish rules for a good work-life balance

Set and adhere to working hours: Too much overtime can have a significant impact on your work-life balance. It is important to adhere to your agreed working hours and to have clearly defined start and end times. You should take responsibility for asking for this or, if you are self-employed, for defining and following your own rules. Exceptions are OK, but should never become the rule.

Communication is the key: If you find that unrealistic schedules or too many tasks are stressing you out, address these issues openly. Often project managers are not aware of such challenges. By voicing your concerns, you can work together to find solutions. For the self-employed, it is important to arrive at a realistic assessment of your own capacities. This also means not taking on more work if you already have too much, even though it may be difficult to say no.

Set boundaries: It is important to set clear boundaries between work and leisure to ensure personal well-being. Realize that you don’t always have to be available – whether you are an employee or self-employed.

Conclusion: You can achieve distance from your work by means of individual strategies. Actively addressing stressors and cultivating supportive relationships are key elements in overcoming non-work challenges and establishing a fulfilling work-life balance.