4 Ways to erect a work/life barrier

As a fledgling entrepreneur, it is very easy to let normal life get completely decimated by work. There's always one more email to write, one more person to call, one more blog post to finish.

On good days this can be a good-ish thing: my work is my life, but what I'm doing is so much fun that I end my day energized and feeling great. But at the end of the day, I still feel a little numb, as if I worked for 18 hours.

On not-so-good days, this is a very bad thing - if things aren't going well and I've been hitting stumbling blocks all day, I end my day frustrated and exausted.

I had the same feelings when back I worked for MegaCorp, so this is applicable to anyone who has the "opportunity" to work remotely or from home.

I find that if I erect a solid work/life barrier, I get a chance to actually live a little and I feel more relaxed and able to attack work again the next day.

Four ways to draw a line between work time and not-work time:

1. Blow the steam whistle.
Sadly, in most modern work situations there is no steam whistle to signal the official end of work hours - you have to decide when to stop. If I don't announce that work is over, I'll find myself trying to get one more thing done after dinner, which lead to another, and then I'm left with a never-ending work day.

Create a signal that you're done (like turning off the computer, or an evening cocktail). The trick is to actually stop working, emailing, calling, talking, or even thinking about work. You're done now - go do things that are not work.

2. Separate your email accounts.
I have five email accounts: three personal and two business. The three personal accounts are kept on Apple Mail, while my business accounts are kept on Mozilla Thunderbird. To declare an end to work, I can just quit Thunderbird. Sure there are a few friends who send mail to my work accounts, and a few work contacts who send email to my home accounts, but there really isn't that much mixing.

You don't have to go as far as I have - you can just use a free webmail account for your personal emails, and use Outlook (or whatever application your business uses) for your business emails, then turn off Outlook when you're not working.

An additional note on my setup: the two programs I use help me to make this distinction a clear one. Apple Mail is well suited for personal emailing - it's easy to use, and all the default settings are great for casual messaging. Thunderbird on the other hand is a not-so user friendly industrial strength email application. It's perfect for business messaging, setting up mailing lists, creating templates, and other intense email work.

3. And now, for something completely different.
Step away from the computer/cell phone/blackberry, and do something completely non-work related. Cook a meal with your partner, work out, play some Halo (or, in my case Professor Layton and the Curious Village). Don't just sit there and continue typing away - you'll be sorely tempted to open Outlook just once more.

4. Change into something more comfortable.
A good signal that your day is over is to change out of work clothes and pull on some sweats and a tee-shirt. You'll feel more relaxed and less inclined to keep working.

Note to pro bloggers: do the opposite - change out of your sweats and put something business-like on! :)

(Great Wall of China image from Wikimedia Commons)