In a conversation recently the subject of ‘transition’ time came up. What do I mean by that? It’s the time between one activity and another, when you transition from one thing to something else.
These transitions happen all the time – between being in bed and getting on with your day, and the reverse at the end of the day etc. And most of the time we pay no attention to them. Possibly to our detriment.
One of the most significant of these transitions can be between work and home. The time between finishing work and starting your ‘evening’. (Whatever ‘evening’ means for you based on your working hours.)
Pre-pandemic we would generally have a commute between home and workplace, and back again. Now, with increased working from home, that commute may only be a few steps, blurring the boundary between work time and home time. And this as the importance of a good work/life balance becomes more prevalent, and we talk more about our mental and emotional well-being.
Does this change and lack of transition time matter? Maybe it does. Without a commute we have lost time to process the day’s events. To go over things in our mind and reflect on the day. We might not even have been aware this is what we were doing. And we might not realise we’re not doing it now. We might just have a sense that we’re bringing work with us into our evening, that we can’t fully relax or rest.
In the conversation I was having we agreed that transition time is important. Particularly so between work and home, and sometimes between activities too. And that implementing transition time had given us benefits in our lives – better quality time with loved ones, increased focus, a feeling of increased wellbeing.
So how can you create this if it’s lacking in your life? Some suggestions to get you thinking: take a walk and get some fresh air; get out in nature; have a shower; do some exercise; spend time on a hobby; read; listen to music; journal; meditate.
Doing something to create a gap between one activity and another can really make a difference. Try it – what can you do?
Making Time for Me 