Here is a very simple concept that can have a big impact on your peace of mind and ability to disconnect in the evenings and weekend (it has had a big impact on me.)

I have had the great opportunity to work with and for amazing leaders, co-workers and direct reports. Driven individuals who work very hard and who sometimes see the need or just want to work evenings and weekends. I feel like I am driven and work very hard but I also do my best to, once I leave the office, leave work behind. I especially focus on not checking my work email. In my role, that is not always the best thing when projects and people depend on me. That is where the “communication” part of the strategy comes in. I have made it very clear to my boss, my direct reports and my co-workers that I do not check email in the evening and over the weekend. (I make it clear to my direct reports that I don’t expect them to check their email either.) But, I also let them know that if something urgent comes up that they should text or call me and I will do my best to respond in a timely manner.

As I said, this is simple and not rocket science. But, it does a few very important things. It allows me and those that I work with to disconnect and focus on their other roles and responsibilities outside of work. It also allows those who do want to work in the evenings and weekends to fill up my inbox as they see fit, knowing that I will respond the next business day. Last but not least, it is very clear that if something is urgent, they don’t send me an email that gets buried with all the other “stuff” that comes my way. They text me or they call me so that I can respond and address the issue.

You will be surprised to see the respect and boundaries that this little strategy creates and how few times something is truly urgent that requires a text or phone call. The final step to this strategy is that I turn off my email notifications so my evenings and weekend are not constantly interrupted by the incoming, never ending, deluge of email (I get a lot of email and I bet you do too). There is a large amount of peace that occurs knowing that it is OK to disconnect and that if something is time sensitive, I will be notified. Set boundaries, communicate those boundaries and turn off your notifications.