How to Stop Work From Taking Over Your Life
3/16/202643 min
Work doesn’t end when the workday does. Even after we close our laptops, our minds keep replaying awkward meetings, looming deadlines, and unfinished to-do lists. Over time, that “always on” mentality can quietly hijack our relationships, our health, and our happiness.
Dr. Laurie sits down with psychologist and bestselling author Guy Winch (Mind Over Grind: How to Break Free When Work Hijacks Your Life) to explore the science of work stress — and why so many of us get stuck in fight-or-flight mode long after we’ve left the office.
Plus, Ben Walter, host of “The Unshakeab...
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First 90 secondsLaurie Santos· Host0:00
[intro music] Pushkin. [gentle music] When it comes to feeling happier, the approach we take to work really matters. The average American spends about half of their waking hours on the job, which even if you're lucky enough to love what you do, can feel like a lot. But work doesn't always stop at the end of the workday, and I'm not just talking about all the unpaid sorts of work we have to do, the cooking and cleaning and caring for family members. I'm talking about the paid work that winds up creeping into the little free time we do have.
Guy Winch· Guest0:40
The metaphor I use is a pinball machine. The work shoots out, and then it starts dinging to your relationships, to your personal life, to your thoughts, to your leisure, to your ability to recover, to your self-care. And then when those become compromised, it makes things worse at work, which makes things worse outside of work, which makes things worse at work, dinging back and forth. And that stress then stays in play for so much longer, which is why we're getting burnt out.
Laurie Santos· Host1:07
This is psychologist, podcaster, and bestselling author Guy Winch. Guy is an expert on managing all kinds of tough emotions, but his latest book, Mind Over Grind: How to Break Free When Work Hijacks Your Life, is all about strategies we can use to create a healthier work-life balance, something Guy admits he wasn't always great at.
Guy Winch· Guest1:26
Literally a year into my professional career,