Day Three: Afterwork Wind Down

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You're listening to the Mindful Drinking Advent day three on the Mindful Drinking and Moderation in Midlife podcast. And day three is all about the afterwork wind down, that 6 p.m. feeling where you got to the end of the day, and all you can think about is all the stuff that you didn't get done and that you still got to do tomorrow. Christmas is a really weird time for work because, on the one hand, everybody's got this sort of laissez faire, let's chill out, we don't have to worry too much about it. It's Christmas, don't worry about it, sort of attitude. And then on the other hand, there's still loads of shit to be done. There's things that you have to get done because your job demands it, because uh you might work in an industry that's even busier at Christmas time. I worked in hospitality for 24 years. Uh, all the times when most people who work in offices thought were uh relaxing, enjoyable times were my busiest times. Um, or perhaps you have a boss who doesn't really subscribe to that whole take it easy, it's Christmas thing, and you're trying to get things done, but you can't get hold of somebody else or another office because they're out having their Christmas due. It's this real big mishmash of a roller coaster of intensities throughout this time. And so when you get to the end of the day, sometimes

Alternative after work wind downs

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you can be really frazzled. You can get to the five o'clock, six o'clock, seven o'clock, whenever you finish that time, and you're thinking, oh my god, it's been a long day. I just need to unwind. I need a drink, I've earned this. And you know what? You're absolutely right. You have earned this, you do deserve to wind down and to relax and to let it all go. However, that doesn't necessarily have to mean that the drink that you've earned has to have alcohol in it. Now, if you want that drink to have alcohol in it and you've made a conscious decision that that's what's going to serve you best in that moment, then that's entirely up to you. But for those times when you recognize that you don't want to add consuming alcohol onto all the other stresses that you've been dealing with for the day, it is perfectly okay for you to go and find some alternative drinks and alternative ways to get that moment of peace and relaxation that you need. So, a couple of afterwork tips for you to help you with that transition period. Uh, at the end of your day, when you're leaving the office or if you work from home like I do before you move from the desk over to the sofa, um, purge and and not in like the horror movie kind of way, but I mean clear your mind. All those things that are flying around in your head that you either didn't get done or that you know are coming up soon or that you're worried about forgetting, they all sit in your brain. And unless you let them go, they will just add to the noise that's in your mind and make it harder for you to make conscious decisions about how you're going to allow alcohol to uh be part of your evening ritual. So the best thing that you can do is get all of that out of your head, get it down on paper, uh, or tablet or your phone or whatever it is that you use, and make a list of everything that you still need to do, uh, everything that is outstanding, everything that you are worried about, everything that you're concerned about, get it out of your head, get it on paper, close the book when you finish writing your list and put it aside out of sight. Put it in your desk drawer, put it in another room, whatever that is. Once you've done that, your brain will start to recognize that you have actioned the things that are causing you stresses, and it will allow you to let them go. Yes, you'll still have to deal with them tomorrow, but for the moment, your brain can start to switch off and to unwind. Speaking of switching off, next thing you need to do, switch off all the devices that you can, turn off all the notifications. Uh, I, for one, I don't actually allow any notifications on my phone anymore. My phone is always on silent because I was constantly being bombarded with other people's priorities, and it meant that I wasn't able to focus on the things that I know that I needed to do. So, of an evening time when you're trying to relax and unwind and not focus on uh on automatic and not allow sorry automatic drinking habits to take place, you need to switch off all the interruptions that are going to interfere with the messages that you are sending yourself. Uh, this is your time. You don't have to be available to anybody else now. Uh, and then the last thing you can do is to reset. So as you step through the door when you get home, uh, or as I said, move from the the spare room to the living room or wherever it is that you're working, you need to take a moment to do a physical reset. Uh, I am a big fan of walking. Walking is amazing. I walked every day, uh, a minimum of 11,000 steps every day for a year. I felt fantastic. Uh, I thought, oh, I've achieved something. I stopped doing it, and within two weeks I felt awful again. Uh, so go for a little walk around the block, uh, have a change of scenery, uh, take in some nature. I know it's dark outside, just work with me. Uh, change it when you get home,

Reset Rituals: Walk, Change, Breathe

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change your clothes, wash your face, relax. Now, if you do still want that post-work drink, that's absolutely fine. I want you to wait just 20 minutes and just see if you still want it. If you do, make sure you've got some alcohol-free drinks in the fridge as alternatives. On today's day on the advent calendar, there's a selection of some great functional drinks that can help with just this sort of transition period that you find yourself in after work. So go and check that one out. Uh, give some of those drinks a try and let me know how you get on with those. Okay, that's it for today. I'll see you tomorrow for day four of the mindful drinking advent. Uh and until then, cheers to a Christmas less intoxicated.