Do you find yourself sitting at the dinner table, lying in bed, or trying to relax on vacation while stressing out about your responsibilities at work?

Is it hard to chill out and enjoy your hobbies without the stress of the workplace and your responsibilities in the back of your mind?

In our culture the workplace is becoming even more important and with how email, cell phones, and other devices have made us more connected it is even harder to leave it behind at the end of the day.

If you want to learn how to leave your work at the office and enjoy your free time more, here are a few tips.

• Shut off your devices. As soon as you arrive at home, turn off your Blackberry and don’t check your emails until the next morning. The emails will still be there tomorrow and this is not the time to respond to them.
• Make a happy playlist and listen to it in your car on the way home. Music is a great emotional trigger and when you hear your favourite songs you will feel much better.
• If you have had a stressful day, ask your partner to allow you 15 minutes to vent. You can set the timer to stay on track and once your time is up, you are not allowed to say anything else about work for the rest of the night.
• Spend time with your family. Go outside and play a game of soccer with the kids, watch a movie with your partner, or take the family and the dog out for a walk in the park. You will quickly forget about your work worries and focus on the people you love instead.
• Sometimes we get worn out and stressed because we don’t take enough time for ourselves. Schedule in a hot bath, a favourite TV show, or a quiet moment to sip a cup of tea and read a good book.

The most important thing to remember is that if your workplace continues to be stressful and consumes your thoughts for too long, it might be healthier to seek work somewhere else.

Life is too short to spend feeling stressed out about your job!