Leaving Work at Work
- Wayne Mylin
- Dec 15, 2025
- 3 min read
Reconnecting With Your Own Life After Hours
For many healthcare professionals, the workday doesn’t end when the shift is over. The patient who is still in pain, the family that looks to you for answers, the chart that didn’t get finished... these concerns linger long after you’ve left the clinic or hospital.
Carrying this weight home can blur the line between professional and personal life. Over time, it erodes well-being, strains relationships, and feeds burnout. The skill of leaving work at work is not about being less dedicated; it’s about protecting your energy so you can sustain both your career and your personal life with resilience.
Why It’s Hard to Disconnect
Healthcare is not a job you can easily “switch off.”
This makes boundaries harder to maintain, but also more essential.
The Cost of Carrying It All Home
When you regularly take work home emotionally, mentally, or physically, the costs show up quickly:
Feeling perpetually “on call.”
Strained relationships with family or friends who feel secondary to your work.
Difficulty relaxing or sleeping because your mind is replaying the day.
A creeping loss of joy in both professional and personal life.
You can’t care for others effectively if you never create space to restore yourself.
Practical Strategies for Leaving Work at Work
1. Create a Transition Ritual
Develop a consistent practice that signals the end of the workday. This might be:
A short walk from the parking lot while taking deep breaths.
Changing clothes immediately when you get home.
Listening to music or a podcast during your commute can shift your mood.
A mindfulness practice, like pausing to acknowledge the day, then letting it go.
The ritual serves as a “trail marker” between your professional and personal domains.
2. Use Boundaries with Intention
Decide what communication you will or won’t respond to after hours (emails, calls, messages).
Protect time with family and friends as sacred, just as you would a patient appointment.
Be realistic: sometimes you’ll need flexibility—but aim for boundaries to be the rule, not the exception.
3. Externalize the Day’s Weight
If patient stories or challenges are still in your head:
Write them down in a private notebook before leaving.
Debrief with a trusted colleague at the end of the shift.
Use mindfulness to acknowledge the thought and gently redirect your focus.
This helps prevent carrying the emotional burden silently into your personal life.
4. Reconnect With Who You Are Beyond Work
You are more than your profession. Reclaim that identity:
Engage in hobbies, creative pursuits, or exercise that bring joy.
Spend time with loved ones where work is not the focus.
Set small personal goals that remind you life is larger than the clinic.
5. Anchor Back to Your Purpose
On hard days, it’s easy to feel consumed by what you can’t do. Re-centering on your deeper “why” provides perspective:
Your role is vital, but you are not responsible for everything.
Trust that you’ve done your part each day, even when outcomes are not in your control.
Let your purpose guide you during work hours, and let your personal values guide you at home.
A Gentle Reminder
Leaving work at work is not abandoning patients; it is preserving yourself so you can show up tomorrow with clarity, compassion, and energy. It’s a skill, one that takes practice, and one that every healthcare professional deserves to cultivate.
You are not only a practitioner. You are also a person... a friend, partner, parent, creator, dreamer. Reconnecting with your whole self after hours is not selfish. It is necessary.
Quick Practice: End-of-Day Reset
Before leaving work today, try this simple three-step ritual:
Pause – Take one slow, deep breath in and out.
Acknowledge – Name one thing you gave today that mattered.
Release – Say to yourself, “I have done what I can for now. The rest is for tomorrow.”
Then step into your evening as the whole person you are.
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