Creating separation between work, training and home life

Reader Comment: 
My struggle is that my work and personal life are feeling blurred. I now realise that the commute to work is a hard boundary but as I work from home I am not able to find this separation. My challenge is to find a new boundary at home because otherwise it becomes exhausting. I also have to consciously stop “overdoing it”, but rather to find time to slow down and go deep into quietness. Most of all, have gratitude that I still have a job ❤
 
My response:
After reading this comment that was made in response to my post on ‘hormonal stress’ I was inspired to write about some of the practical ways that I am trying to separate work, ‘training’ and home life. The challenge of establishing boundaries between work and ‘life’ within our homes is a real and crucially important one. It is a current issue but also a lesson that is invaluable to learn for longer term wellness. So, today I have decided to share what Graham and I are trying to do to create separation from our home and work environments.

1. Create a place for physical activity, work & wellness – Even if you need to clear out the spare bedroom to do so, find somewhere in the home that you can exercise, preferably with a door. If the room or space does not have a door then try to mount a temporary curtain. If this isn’t possible, then put a line of marking tape across the floor. Inside this space is work and physical activity. Outside of this space is home. In my space I have my yoga mat on the floor, my laptop charger plugged in, and a lovely clean space for working and ‘training’. This is where I do my yoga, strength, writing and work tasks. Outside of this space is my ‘home’.
2. Shut the door after every physical or work activity - When you cross the threshold out of your ‘work’ space and ‘return into the home environment’, do not take work or exercise/training with you. You can now in your ‘home’ environment.
3. Don’t cross the threshold into the home carrying any remnants of work – For example, debriefs are done on the bike ride home, no work conversations inside the home and unexpected work phone calls must be taken outside. If you do have to do any work at home then this must be done in the room that you have created for work or physical activity. Go inside, shut the door, complete the task. Then step back out, leave your work thoughts inside and then close the door.
4. Ensure that you have some training routes that are for recovery – I have been trying to mentally create running routes which are for harder days of ‘training’, and then other routes which I never run harder. This is really important because otherwise we associated certain places with certain emotional or mental states. For example, if I have done a tempo run along a certain section of road, then it is highly likely that next time I return there, even if I am only jogging easily, my heart rate will rise, my cortisol and adrenalin levels begin to pump, and my body subconsciously is preparing itself for exertion. This is not what you want on an easy run! 
5. Try yin yoga – I have been checking in with myself after a harder day of mental activity. Have I fully unwound before the relaxation of the evening begins? If not, I go into my studio, lie on my yoga mat and do a 30-45min yin yoga routine. This is basically just long-hold stretches and focussing on deep breathing. It is incredible how much tension I can be subconsciously holding onto. This makes the rest of the evening so, so super peaceful and I always sleep much deeper. I cannot emphasise how sensational this feeling of calmness is.
6. Finish every ‘training session’ with a 1min pause – I have begun finishing every run or physical session with a 60-second moment of quietness. I sit on a log, close my eyes and feel my body zinging with post-run energy. I try to listen to the quietness around me, or the busyness, and just feel grateful that I can choose to be peaceful in this moment. You can literally feel your body heave a sigh of relief!

 
In summary, we are aiming to prevent negative anchoring in the home. We want to avoid ‘work’ anchors establishing when we are trying to be ‘at home’, and ‘training’ anchors filtering into the times when we are trying to unwind. Creating physical barriers to work and training in and around your home life will really help you to feel more peaceful at home. I hope this helps!

FYI: I have been doing my yoga practices with @Aaron Schultz Yoga. Find this on Facebook. He offers 10 very simple and runner-friendly, beginner-friendly practices every week. All of these can be done either live or later in your own time. He offers both Yin & Flow yoga, as well as some guided meditation sessions.
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