I used to find winding down from a long day at work hard, I’d had to be so on the ball and so attentative at my jobs that I’d get home and still feel wired. Sometimes I’d still be wide awake at 4am unable to get any sleep to be ready for the next days work. So I started looking at what I did when I got home and what I should change.

I’d spend between 8 to 10 hours a day in front of a computer screen working from deadline to deadline, needless to say I quit that job a long time ago. But after working so many hours, I’d come home and spent more time in front of the screen either talking to friends or playing some games as it felt my way to relax. It wasn’t a good way to relax though, I just got out all my frustrations by killing people in games. So I started breaking up my routines a bit with what I did when I got home and I get a reasonable nights sleep these days.

1. Avoid the screen. Even if you are intending to do some work after hours on the computer, leave a few hours between when you get home and when you do that little bit extra. I come home and make myself a coffee, sit on the balcony and take in some sunshine (if there is any) and stare at the traffic going by and people walking in the park over the road. Sometimes if my housemates are around I’ll talk to them about things out there too.

2. Get that pesky computer job out the way first. Sometimes I’ll email myself from work to home a list of things I need to get done in order for something later in the week. So while I have told you to avoid the screen, if you’ve got a few emails to send like I do. I get in the door, sit down and shoot them off and get them out the way. The rest of the evening is free for me to do what ever.

3. My Ultimae relaxation. No, that wasn’t a typing error. Just a bad ploy at a pun Sometimes I feel the need to take my mind off things and I found a great way to do that. A stumbled across a nice little website called Ultimae where there is several composers and DJ’s who take your general type of dance music and slow it down to an ambient calming pace. I’ve found sitting in my chair with my eyes closed and some of these going is quite relaxing. Floating Retention by Cell is one of my favourites, he produces atmospheric drum and bass and I tend to feel good after listening to that track and I can then focus my mind onto other things.

4. Television. I don’t watch a great deal of tv, most of my tv shows I do enjoy don’t make it to Australia until 6 months after the season finishes in the U.S. So I acquire them other ways  not that theres much I watch anyway. However I have found that sitting and watching The Simpsons on TV just after dinner makes me feel more relaxed. I probably watch maybe 3 episodes a week that come on television even if they are repeats. My Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights are always reserved for CSI, NCIS and similar crime shows that I’ve become hooked on and now watch religiously.

5. Go out. While I don’t do it ofte, I’ll head to the closest shopping centre and go looking around shops and maybe have some dinner while I’m out. Even if it is from a quick Asian place that I can get something it gives me something to break up the week, even more so when there’s late nigh shopping available. You don’t necessarily have to spent money in the shops either, window shopping is fine. Even looking at dvds, books and cds might give you some ideas for a birthday thats coming up soon.

Some of these may be good for you, I hope they do