6 ways to transition better from worklife to homelife

Or how not to be an ogre when it's been a long one

In May, we are talking about being home and being away. Today, I’d like to offer a few ideas about the most banal of subjects - how to return home at the end of the workday.

My track record of how I return home each day is mixed, charitably. Sometimes I enter the door like Mr. Rogers, calm and patient. But more often than I’d like, I come in like a panzer tank. Making the shift from work life to home life isn’t always easy.

So here are a few ideas I’ve been playing with.

• Don’t come home super hungry. By the end of the day, it’s been a while since lunch. But starting your home life with low blood sugar is not a recipe for success.

• The tone of your first words set the tone. I saw someone mention this on socials - your first words really matter. They can share a lot about your day and how your interactions might shift the dynamic in the house. Goal - Great everyone with an upbeat tone.

• While you’ve had a day, so has everyone else in the house. So often, I feel like I’m playing catchup with whatever the story line of the house has been that afternoon.
  

  That can be good if positive, but also means you are stepping in front of a tidal wave if the waters aren’t calm. It’s good to be aware of this, and even better if your spouse can give you a heads up.

• A friend told me that “work is where he goes to solve problems that he didn’t create.” After a long day of dealing with problems, it is easy to immediately see everything that is wrong when you come home.
  
  It’s either exhaustion - the oh’s—t, here’s something else I have to do. Or pattern recognition - your brain activated from solving issues all day and seeking out more wood to chop.
  
  It’s important to be super mindful about what problems you see are yours to solve at that moment.

• Build in a buffer. Not all commutes are bad. I had a period of time where my commute was too short (less than 5 min) and I missed that buffer window back home.

• You may need to extend your buffer. You may need to take a walk too - sometimes, I’m encouraged to go take a walk when I get home. I’m working to better self-diagnose when that should occur.