Meet the only locally owned Ford dealership #in 1Moore County! 910.
947.2244
Come visit Aaron Cooper
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u
nd
cus
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5292 U.S. Highway 15-501 Carthage, NC • Mon - Fri 9AM to 6PM • Sat 8:30AM - 5PM • Sun - Closed
WORK LIFE continued
Work Life Balance
Linda M. Parsons, IOM, CCEC
President and CEO
Moore County Chamber of Commerce
When was the last time you got away from
work? I mean truly got away from it—didn’t
think about it, didn’t worry about it, didn’t have
a to-do list rattling around in your brain.
Most of us know there are benefits to getting
away from work. We know we need time to
recharge each day to be able to sustain our
attention in the office. We know time away from
complex problems allows us to find a fresh
perspective. We know if we work too many long
days in a row, then we are less productive.
The hard part is that while you may agree
with these benefits of getting away from your
work, you may still have trouble doing it. Even
if you do go home at a decent hour in the
evening, you may
find yourself reading
one last report.
WORK LIFE con't. next column WORK LIFE con't. p. 26
Enjoy ALL THINGS MOORE COUNTY
with Bill Sahadi, CRS, Broker / Owner. For all your real estate needs, call
Bill & team at Fore Properties.
910-692-4211
1140 S. Old Hwy #1
Southern Pines, NC 28387
www.foreproperties.com/radio
www.foreproperties.com
Welcome
Home!
& team, get to know
our Cooper Commitment,
and see what makes us #1.
• #1 customer satisfaction rated
Ford dealership
in the Sandhills.
• Our #1 top priority
is serving our customers
& our community.
• We are working hard to
become become
your #1 hometown dealer!
www.cooperford.net
Southern Tropics
Pool & Spa has moved!
We are now at 1545 US 1 in Southern Pines,
in the same building as Golf Augusta. We are
excited for the opportunities our new, larger
space affords us. We will continue to provide the
same excellent service our clients have enjoyed
for the past nine years.
We are currently scheduling pool openings.
Give us a call, and we would love to help you
out! If you are a do-it-yourself type, then come
in for a FREE water test and get started on the
right foot. We carry only the highest-quality
chemicals, and we have the know-how to keep
your pool or spa sparkling! Are you looking
to install a swimming pool? If you sign a pool
installation contract in the month of April, you
get a free Grizzly cooler!
Come see Jessica Tessman
Southern Tropics Pools & Spas
1545 US Hwy 1, Unit A •Southern Pines
910-692-5200 • See ad. p. 35
Free
Grizzly
Cooler
with Pool
Contract!
Linda Parsons,
Moore County
Chamber
of
Commerce.
When you travel
for a few days, you
may still be attached
to your email. When
you wake up early
in the morning, or
lie awake at night,
you might find
your brain sorting
through a long list of
work tasks. When we
can’t let go of work
while we’re out of
the office, then we don’t get to enjoy the benefits
of time away. To wean yourself off work—and
unwanted thoughts of work—you can use a
combination of new habits and lessons from
cognitive behavioral therapy. Here’s how.
Focus on what you’ll do instead. Many
people fail to change their behavior because
they focus on what they are not going to do
rather than on actions they will take instead.
Setting the goal not to work (or think about
work) when you are away from the office starts
with a plan to stop yourself every time you are
tempted to do something work-related.
Negative goals like this — where you focus
on actions you will no longer take — tend to fail
for two reasons. First, your habit system only
learns a new habit when you perform an action,
not when you don’t. So, you cannot create a
habit to avoid an action. Second, when you set
negative goals, you must constantly be vigilant
about your behavior. Otherwise, you will end up
doing the thing you are trying to avoid.
Instead, you need to focus on what you are
going to do instead of working. Create a plan
for your time away from work—whether it is an
evening out of the office or time on vacation.
You need a specific plan to focus on the activities
you are going to perform instead of working.
For example, you might set up a personal
training session for 5:30 PM at a gym, or you
might tell your spouse that you’ll pick up the
kids at daycare. Start volunteering at a local
charity on the weekends.
You can even do some
personal development.
Sign up to learn a new
language. Start painting.
These activities will limit
the time you have for
work, and replace work
with other pursuits.
Sometimes, though,
your downtime may
still be interrupted by
intrusive thoughts about
work. In this case, be
prepared so that you
don’t keep thinking
about upcoming work.
There are two ways to deal with intrusive
thoughts. One is to have a plan to occupy your
mind at the ready: Read a novel; do a crossword
puzzle; or phone a friend. However, there are
times when there is something about work
that really is bugging you. In that case, keep a
notebook handy. Set a timer for 10 minutes
and write down whatever is bothering you. It is
often helpful to get the things that are bothering
you outside of yourself. This is particularly true
when the thoughts you are having about work
reflect anxieties rather than simply the tasks you
must perform when you get back.
Change your environment to support your
new behavior and discourage the old one. For
instance, someone trying to set healthier worklife
boundaries doesn’t leave their phone and
No. 130 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. p.5
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