Protect Your Non-Work Time

22 Feb 2020

shared by: Nugroho J. Setiadi, PhD

Orcid-ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1864-0116

Some jobs have very clear lines between when you’re “on” and when you’re “off.” But when you work in a role where the lines are blurred — or potentially nonexistent — it’s important to protect your non-work time. If you feel like work is taking over most of your waking hours, start by clearly defining what “after hours” means for you. Take into account the number of hours you’re expected to work each week, as well as personal commitments like taking your kids to school, making a certain train, or attending an exercise class you really enjoy. When do you need to start and stop to put in the appropriate amount of work time? Then, develop mental clarity about what needs to get done and when you will do it. Keep track of your tasks and plan them out. Make sure you block off time for an end-of-workday wrap-up, where you review and make sure you did everything you needed to do for the day. Lastly, communicate with your colleagues about how (or if) you want to be contacted during your off hours. Really guard your time. If you don’t, you won’t get the mental break that everyone needs.
This tip is adapted from “How to Leave Work at Work,” by Elizabeth Grace Saunders

 

Source:  Saunders, E.G.  (2020). How to Leave Work at Work. Harvard Business Review.  From: https://hbr.org/2020/02/how-to-leave-work-at-work?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_campaign=mtod_notactsubs . Retrieved on Feb 21, 2020, 8:27 PM

Nugroho J. Setiadi, PhD
  1. Brian Richard Thu, 27 February 2020 at 13:57

    Brian Richard - 2001580321 I do agree with the fact that we need to protect our non-work time, because if not, we’ll keep working overtime and that will cause many disadvantage effects such as stress, sleepy all the time (which lead into less productivity) and worst, it could lead you into depression. We need to protect our non-work time so that we could rest and recover stamina or even doing some things that stimulates our brain in having more creative thoughts such as hobbies, etc. My conclusion is, it is important to have your non-work time protected.

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  2. Calvin Sioe Thu, 27 February 2020 at 19:15

    Nama : Calvin Sioe NIM : 2001551460/LA26 Menurut saya, membagi waktu antara pekerjaan dan kehidupan pribadi sangat penting. Kebutuhan pribadi seperti berkumpul dengan orang-orang terdekat merupakan kebutuhan dasar manusia karena manusia selama hidupnya akan membutuhkan orang lain. Bagaimana cara yang baik untuk membagi waktu? Salah satunya dengan memberitahu rekan-rekan kerja kapan Anda bisa dihubungi mengenai masalah pekerjaan. Selain itu, batasi diri Anda untuk mengurus pekerjaan di waktu senggang seperti saat berkumpul bersama keluarga. Kesimpulannya adalah fokus dan dedikasi pada pekerjaan merupakan hal yang penting dan positif namun jika terlalu berlebihan akan berdampak pada kehidupan pribadi dan kesehatan mental Anda.

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  3. Bobby Ryan Hartono Thu, 27 February 2020 at 21:54

    We as a human being can not work the whole day so to protect our non-work time is as important as we become a human being. The most important thing is to not manage your time but to manage your energy and life because if we don't have the energy to work, then we can't do effective work

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  4. Fatah Panji Firmansyah Thu, 27 February 2020 at 21:54

    Name: Fatah Panji Firmansyah NIM: 2001579780 In my opinion i agree with this article because for me someone has to have a balance life, if someone doesn't have a balance life between work and off work anything that person do in work is not the best result that he can give because and it is not directly realized by the person

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  5. Irfan Arsyad Thu, 27 February 2020 at 23:38

    i agree with this article that was made by Mr.Nugroho when you work in a role where the lines are blurred or potentially nonexistent it’s important to protect your non-work time. Take a break , do whatever make you enjoy , worker need break too , refresh the brain by doing what you like and back to work with a fresh start. And we must now how to manage the time when we were off at work & how to respect yourself by doing "communicate with your colleagues about how (or if) you want to be contacted during your off hours" so they not disturb when you were at something outside the office. (2001583752)

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  6. Aji Sinta Prameswari Fri, 28 February 2020 at 05:01

    Aji Sinta Prameswari 2001541283 Menurut saya, jam kerja sangat penting untuk kita ketahui pembagian waktunya, karena secara tidak langsung hal itu mempengaruhi kesehatan tubuh dan mental seseorang. Seperti artikel tersebut menjalaskan pentingnya tentang pembagian waktu untuk tubuh. Apalagi pada saat hari libur seperti yang dijelaskan diatas, karena jam kerja diindonesia sangat tidak memungkinkan untuk seseorang selepas kerja bisa langsung beristirahat melihat kondisi keadaan daerah di indonesia (terutama DKI jakarta), apalagi banyak pekerja di indonesia yang sudah memiliki keluarga, otomatis waktunya dengan keluarga akan sangat berkurang terutama dengan anaknya pekerja tersebut, dan kita tahu peranan orang tua sangat penting untuk perkembangsn anak kecil. Jadi perlunya waktu libur tersebut untuk bersama keluarga sehingga menurut saya tidak boleh diganggu gugat dengan pekerjaan.

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  7. Melyana Pangestu Fri, 28 February 2020 at 11:16

    Melyana Pangestu / 2001553112 Yes, I agree with this statement because if someone doesn't have enough non-work time, he/she will feel stressed and give a bad influence on his/her work. On the other hand, it seems to give room to others in making his/her mood go down and so there is no me time. Thank you.

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  8. Afra Soraya Fri, 28 February 2020 at 14:20

    Afra Soraya 2001600393 - LA26 In my opinion, this article is good because it makes us realize how important time is spent with useful activities, can divide time for things that are prioritized, can manage the time when we have to work, how much time is spent and set aside time for other activities and rest for physical and mental health yourself. Thank you.

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  9. Afra Soraya Fri, 28 February 2020 at 14:22

    In my opinion, this article is good because it makes us realize how important time is spent with useful activities, can divide time for things that are prioritized, can manage the time when we have to work, how much time is spent and set aside time for other activities and rest for physical and mental health yourself. Thank you & Best Regards, Afra Soraya 2001600393 - LA26

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  10. 2001578374 - Ghia Sakanti Narendrakanyaka Fri, 28 February 2020 at 14:53

    What i got from this article, if we have a job we should consider about our break time too. Especially if our job is not clear when we must to take a break. So, we ourselves must determine the time. We should organize our task so we know when we should stop and its easily to do the task and its save more time. Because we like everyone else need a break time for our mental health or doing anything else instead of work.

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  11. Jemmy young Sat, 29 February 2020 at 23:07

    For me, the article is really good because it give a solution for most people today. Because in today era, a lot of people is really busy of their work. They can't manage and can't determine when to work and when to stop working. The consequence is a lot of people everyday life is messy and causes stress. From all method and tips in this article, my favorite is gets jobs done in work time and set target when we gets our jobs done. For me, this two method is the best way to fix our work time so when its free time we can free from job and not working on our free day or free hours.

    Reply
  12. Monica Vania Stephanie (2001590796) Sun, 01 March 2020 at 12:32

    I agree with the statement “ same jobs have very clear lines between when you’re off and when you’re on”. It means when we work, we also need some refreshing time or rest time. We also have to count every hours that we need to work so it won’t overtime. When it becomes overtime, you will get stress easily. If we count well, we will know when we need to rest and when we need to work again. Non-Work Time is means not only rest time but it also doing some activity like meet your best friend when you have a holiday or day off. In my final conclusion when we work, we also need to rest our mind. So mind and body must be balance. (Monica Vania Stephanie Santoso – 2001590796 – LA26 – Strategic Management)

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  13. Wulandari Sun, 01 March 2020 at 13:01

    after reading the article I better understand the importance of working hours every week. I have to arrange the time when the task has to be completed so that I can have free time (Non-Work Time) to rest because resting time is very important for the health of the workers. Thank you!

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  14. m ramadhan aditia Sun, 01 March 2020 at 17:50

    I agree about protecting our non-work time, if not so the company or boss will abuse their power into using our energy as their resource to work and work without any compensation. I agree if there are overtime hours for my services as an employee but within an agreement, there is a limitation that I or the company can use my services to work overtime in some time on my timeline of work.

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  15. Edo Roy Sun, 01 March 2020 at 20:18

    Edo Roy - 2001547665 i agree with the article. it teach me to keep track of my task and also to know when to stop and not overdoing it.

    Reply
  16. Verent Angelia Mon, 02 March 2020 at 01:17

    Dear Mr Nugroho, This article is relevant to these days lately, many people work overtime and get stressed by their work. in my opinion by reading this article, knowing when to stop and having some good time outside the office is one way to reduce stress and a manifestation of loving ourselves. How to protect non-work-time by your article is: 1. Know when the "after-hours" begin and how many hours you have to work everyday 2. List the activities you may enjoy during the after-hours 3. Develop mental clarity about what needs to get done and when will you do it consistently and review per activity 4. Communicate to colleagues about how you want to be contacted during the after hours. Name : Verent Angelia NIM : 2001609745 Class : LA26

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  17. Agustin Savira Mon, 02 March 2020 at 14:59

    Agustin Savira 2001604246 [la26] -- on this article, i learned that is so important to start defining what "after hours" means. it's about protect my free time by taking over most of my working hours. how? to start it? 1.develop mental clarity 2. block off time 3. communicate with colleagues

    Reply
  18. Maximilian Fajar Linus Wed, 04 March 2020 at 22:40

    Maximilian Fajar Linus - 2001574874 -LA26. Saya setuju dengan artikel ini.Menurut saya setiap orang harus dapat memisahkan antara waktu bekerjanya dengan waktu luang yang dia miliki. Dengan demikian, orang tersebut mamiliki kesempatan untuk dapat istirahat dan melakukan kegiatan lain di luar pekerjaan seperti melakukan hobinya atau sekedar jalan-jalan. Bila terlalu banyak memikirkan pekerjaan dapat meningkatkan potensi timbulnya stress pada seseorang yang dapat meningkatkan resiko penyakit ataupun kurangnya konsentrasi pada saat bekerja.

    Reply
  19. ade hafizh arifta Sat, 07 March 2020 at 21:34

    ade Hafizh arifta - 2001596244 -LA26. dari artikel yang saya baca diatas, saya setuju dengan apa yang disampaikan oleh artikel tersebut, karena setiap manusia membutuhkan pembagian waktu antara pekerjaan dan free timenya. dengan komposisi pembagian yang tepat akan berpengaruh kepada kepribadian orang tersebut, seperti lebih fresh,relax,kreatif,tenang dll. dan apabila komposisi pembagian waktu nya Tidak tepat akan juga berpengaruh ke hal yang negatif kepada orang tersebut, seperti kurang konsentrasi,kurang kreatif,stress dll.

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  20. Ferrel Enoch Ibrahim Sun, 08 March 2020 at 17:01

    Ferrel Enoch Ibrahim - 2001547671 - LA26. I aggre with this article about how precious your non-work time. You have to arrange the activities for your non-work time so you can use 24/7 effectively, don't get too much overtime. Rest is important, rest can affect your brain. If you don't get enough rest, your brain can't work properly then your work will become a mess. You must arrange your non-work time and your life will be better.

    Reply
  21. ade hafizh arifta Mon, 09 March 2020 at 07:34

    ade hafizh arifta-2001596244 LA26. dalam artikel ini menunjukan bahwa setiap orang harus memiliki waktu kerja dan waktu luang. kedua hal tidak seharusnya disatukan, karena setiap orang perlu untuk rehat dari pekerjaannya dan menghabiskan waktu nya dengan hal hal lain, hal ini diperlukan untuk membuat dirinya tidak stress contohnya, dan hal ini dapat berpengaruh juga kepada kinerjanya saat bekerja kembali.

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  22. Andi Wijaya - LA26 Tue, 10 March 2020 at 15:48

    Andi Wijaya - 2001592372 Balance life is important, there should be a line between working time and your daily time, first make a priority list what have you do in your daily schedule, do all the list first the take the time to enjoy your free time and don't stress out, just have fun.

    Reply
  23. jemmy young Sat, 14 March 2020 at 23:38

    nama: jemmy young nim: 2001624651 For me, the article is really good because it give a solution for most people today. Because in today era, a lot of people is really busy of their work. They can't manage and can't determine when to work and when to stop working. The consequence is a lot of people everyday life is messy and causes stress. From all method and tips in this article, my favorite is gets jobs done in work time and set target when we gets our jobs done. For me, this two method is the best way to fix our work time so when its free time we can free from job and not working on our free day or free hours.

    Reply
  24. Bayu Pratama Wed, 18 March 2020 at 14:47

    Bayu Pratama - 2001624336. Saya setuju dengan artikel ini, kita memang perlu menyeimbangakan waktu untuk bekerja dan juga waktu untuk istirahat. Untuk itu perlu adanya perencanaan waktu terhadap aktivitas yang dilakukan tiap harinya. Seperti kapan harus menghabiskan waktunya untuk hobbi, kerja, hingga berkumpul dengan keluarga.

    Reply
  25. Daniel Nalom Thu, 19 March 2020 at 17:44

    Daniel Nalom - 1901497174 What i can learn from this article was, employee is not a merely inferior sub-ordinate which invaluable to the enterprise. Clear line of what is on and what is off should be identified and confirmed stated on job-description each workers per se. Supervision from managers and the executives should be run to protects employee personal interest and securing the company assets to reach the best potential of human resource. Thank you

    Reply
  26. Raden Mikail Akbar Aulia - 2001615205 Fri, 20 March 2020 at 12:55

    We need to protect our non-work time because it reduces productivity. It becames inefficient and started to become lazy. In most cases, working overtime shows your inefficiency, improper planning, and carelessness.

    Reply
  27. Kevin Bangun Renaldy Sat, 21 March 2020 at 14:54

    Kevin Bangun Renaldy - 2001536453 In my opinion, this thing is important, when you have "after hours" you can do what you want to do, like self improvement, or quality time with family, or doing something you love. thats gonna make your mental health balance with your work.

    Reply
  28. Erlyta Agustin Wilarto Wed, 01 April 2020 at 22:14

    Erlyta Agustin Wilarto - 2001598956 - Artikel ini menarik karna membuat saya dapat mempelajar dan mengingat dimasa sekarang dan masa depan apa yang harus saya prioritaskan dan menyisakan waktu untuk diri sendiri dengan keluarga maupun lingkungan . Artinya tidak menjadikan pekerjaan adalah suatu hal yang bisa ditekuni 24/7 tetapi memang ada saatnya dan waktunya kita harus memberikan waktu bagi diri sendiri dengan memberikan keseimbangan pada karier dan kehidupan nyata

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  29. Ardi Santoso Wibowo Tue, 19 May 2020 at 21:32

    Ardi Santoso Wibowo - 2001576841 I learned about to protect my self, it will have to protect the body physics and soul. work hard but can be rest in several times for self. even do to be sucessfull like an Jack Ma after he get an successfull business he had to be rest for their self

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  30. Sri Wulan H.T (2001548535) Wed, 08 July 2020 at 05:45

    Make the most of every time, don't stress too much about work. But add work to something that is our hobby and dream so that we can stay motivated

    Reply