Disconnect from work to stay efficient

Avoid burnout before the holidays

A file to submit here, a meeting to ensure there… With the holidays approaching, you are shifting into high gear. You must imperatively complete all your files to go on vacation with peace of mind. Under these conditions, it unfortunately becomes difficult to disconnect from work. Results ? Stress and fatigue increase. We give you all the tips to let go and avoid burnout before leaving.

I can't let go of work:what am I risking?

You are very invested in your work and it is to your credit. You are undoubtedly the professional type that all employers dream of. However, to remain effective at work in the home stretch before your holidays, you have to learn to disconnect and take the time to take breaks. If you can't let go before departure, the quality of your vacation and your rest could well be impacted.

You are exhausted

Such an investment can cause your stress to skyrocket. Stress, combined with anxiety, can make you irritable and tired. A state conducive to a lack of vigilance that could make you make a mistake at work, and increase your stress. A real vicious circle in which you don't want to fall.

You lose contact with your loved ones

Lack of letting go can also cause you to miss out on valuable time with friends or family in your down time. Be 100% with them by forgetting the office and the files for a few hours and at best, a few days. You will return to the office rested to resume your last files.

Does the right to disconnect speak to you?

The Law (El Komri) adopted by the Senate in 2016 aims to adapt labor law to the digital age and allows employees to separate their professional life from their personal life. Concretely, their employers cannot contact them outside their working hours, and employees may not connect to digital tools during their holidays, weekends, RTT, etc. A law that will make it much easier to let go in your free time.

What tricks exist to disconnect and forget about the office?

About two-thirds of French people see themselves as potentially affected by a burn-out*. To avoid being one of them, take full advantage of your downtime out of the office. To successfully put aside your professional life, here are some useful tips:

• Learn to delegate :during the home stretch, it is legitimate to try to finish everything that is in progress to leave with peace of mind. If you can't, don't ruin your evenings, call on your colleagues. They can relieve you of certain tasks, so that you can concentrate on the essentials.
• Mute your phone :your e-mails can wait until the next day or the end of the weekend. So to fully enjoy your free time, turn off your phone. This will prevent you from being tempted to read your e-mails for example.
• Leave your business computer at work :it is not because you have work before your departure on leave that you should let your work invade your personal sphere. Your pro PC must stay in the office during the week to preserve your evenings.
• Plan activities If work interferes with your personal life, you may be trying to fill a void. To avoid this, plan activities in your free time (sports, hiking, eating out, etc.).

How to disconnect when exercising a liberal profession?

When you work from home or are your own boss, it is even more difficult to separate your professional life from your personal life. To manage to let go and take breaks, it is imperative to set limits and a certain rigor. To do this, set yourself working hours and stick to them. Then, the ideal is to delimit a workspace (a closed room or an office space). As soon as you leave this room, your time is yours.

To keep your skills at work at their best, it is necessary to learn to disconnect from work and take breaks. Not only will you enjoy these moments of rest even more, but you will come back to the office refreshed, even more efficient to meet new challenges.

* According to a study by BPI Group carried out on the Internet in February 2019 on 1,006 French employees.