How to Switch Off at Night

I know I am not the only hardworking entrepreneur or professional who has had this experience. Have you ever tossed and turned with a million things that need to be done, preferably yesterday? Been so lost in thought about your next project that your spouse had to ask you three times how your day went?

I thought so.

Work-itis.

You too, huh?

Entrepreneurial types, whether self-employed or working for someone else, have massively creative brains. We are constantly focussed on what next, how can I improve results, how can I meet targets, and wouldn’t it be fun to create another new product or service…?

It’s fun. But it can be totally exhausting. When do you ever get “time-out”? After all, there are bills to pay, contacts to follow-up, ideas to implement, and that to-do list reproduces itself like bacteria each morning.

The good news is that you can actually switch off. You can finish the day and have a genuine conversation with your spouse and children without seeming like a dreary automaton.

Here’s how to get your brain to turn off, and your humanness to turn on at the end of the day.

First, what not to do:

DO NOT keep working until the very last millisecond where you have to go and pick up the kids, or go out for an appointment. Have a set time to close up shop, put things away, and make a list of tasks for the following day. I set my mobile phone to give me a warning buzz when it is time to close up.

DO NOT leave your computer on when you leave the office, just in case you get a moment to sneak back in. When you’re done for the day, you’re done for the day. Just accept the fact that you’ll never get it all done. Even when you die, your inbox will still be full. Get over it. Make peace with being unfinished.

DO NOT skip your workout. You will be more productive after you sweat it up and your cells are firing with the buzz of new energy. I promise you.

OK, now the good things to do:

Make a decision about what you’ll do for that day just once. Write your list of tasks for that day either the night before, or first thing.

Keep a pen and notepad handy at night if you are particularly busy. Sometimes the brain goes into overdrive with things to do as you come up with more and more clever ideas. However, if you make a mental note to remember, your brain will keep recycling the same thoughts over and over and you’ll get no sleep. Write them down as they come up. This way, your subconscious knows it can let that thought go because it is being ‘handled’.

Figure out what is really causing the stress. If you are so wound up about work that you are not sleeping well, then chances are there is some limiting belief or unhelpful thought draining your energy. Are you worried the business will fail? Do you feel like a failure? Are you trying to prove something?

Get these thoughts handled: makeover your success mindset. Identify the nasty beliefs, figure what you want instead, and re-program them using PSYCH-K, EFT, Byron Katie’s work, or work with a coach to blast these blocks for good.

These are the real culprits for sleepless nights.