In a busy season, how do you transition?

Leaning into sensory change

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This past year since making my leap into uncertainty has been fascinating—liberating, worrisome, calm, wobbly, centered, exhilarating, transformative. It has pretty much been all of the feelings except those in the rage valence, for which I am grateful—because OMG so much rage prior to the leap.

Though I did experience some adjustment awkwardness, I have learned so much about myself during this stretch. I have leveled up my boundaries with work so that my professional time is meaningful and fulfilling yet not all-consuming, explored an actual different way of being through radical rest, and lasered in on my value and purpose as a human being. 

That said, and with humility, I’m reminded that even when you experience tremendous growth and a shifting of priorities and boundaries, if you are a human on the grid with responsibilities, the ship still sometimes gets tippy. 

Right now I’m in a busy season—an interesting place in which I’m both delighted by the abundance and gifts of work and family experience, and found that my transitions at the end of the work day were nonexistent and lead to me being scattered and sputtering in my attempts to transition at the end of the work day. And so, I started thinking about how to tweak what I’m doing to be less of a sputtering to-do list slaying robot.

As I was making notes on the topic, I also decided to do one of my favorite things: crowdsource ideas on Instagram. People often refer to the internet as a trash can but the people with whom I connect on Instagram are 99% lovely and wonderful (the other 1% involve creepy men and follower/engagement bot offers). Anyway, the responses to my question were a good reminder that a big piece of getting your brain to switch gears involves sensory change. Here is some of what I have heard and experienced. There is, of course, some overlap in how some of these transition rituals impact more than one sense, but for simplicity I am using the singular categories below.

Hearing

Music was referenced several times as a way to mark transition, as was listening to a guided meditation and sitting outside listening to the birds chirp for 15 minutes. I also have been thinking about the potential of procuring a Tibetan singing bowl for my office, in order to signal my transition with a strike or circling of the mallet, since that sound is one that instills me with calm.

Sight

The visuals of a candle or twinkle lights were referenced as ways to provide a visual cue for transition. Some folks also mentioned shifting to a different space for a change of scenery.

Smell

I didn’t receive any recommendations related to smell but I derive a lot of joy from my essential oil rollers (of which I am now completely out) and am thinking about finding one reserved for rolling on my wrists to tell my olfactory system that the work day is over.

Taste

Whether it’s a glass of wine or a fizzy La Croix, several people mentioned enjoying a lovely beverage as a transition signal. 

Touch

I love that someone mentioned giving their partner a long hug at the end of the day to “signal completion and release of a stress cycle.” Another person mentioned the simple act of changing shoes to mark transition out of the work day. 

Vestibular/Proprioceptive

In addition to the five well-known senses, the vestibular and proprioceptive senses refer to balance, movement, and spatial awareness. A number of people mentioned walking, running, going to the gym, walking their dog, mowing the lawn, or doing some kind of physical household task at the end of the work day.

Cognitive Signals

There were a couple of additional submitted ideas that are more cognitive than sensory, include writing a to-do list for the next day and visualizing the evening.

What’s Working For Me

I love how quick and doable the above ideas are. I have embraced the dog walk as one of my new end of work day transition rituals. For a long time our household routine has been that I do the midday walk and Jon does the end of the day walk, so in my mind, FAIRNESS meant me not doing the end of day walk, but I have reframed my thinking here. I now look at the end of work day dog walk as many positive things—an opportunity for sensory shift, a way to connect with my dog James, and a way to make Jon’s end of day more relaxed since he was taking James out as soon as he got home after his full work day, but before dinner.  

There are a couple of other transition rituals that I am loving, and while they both can be quick 5-10 minute actions, I have found them helpful when I am struggling to get my mind to unwind:

• READING. I was so fortunate to have Sarina Bowen’s (

  Sarina B.
  ) new book, The Five-Year Lie on my stack. A couple of weeks ago I was really struggling to untangle from work so I sat down with this book and told myself I needed to read one chapter. Well, that one chapter sent me down a much-needed storytelling escape hatch. This book is fantastic and I didn’t want it to end!

• WEEDING. I have been on a mission to improve my tiny backyard and the steps I have taken have had such an impact. I have spent more time out back in the last couple of months than I have in the last several years combined and the space is turning into quite the relaxing oasis! Weeding is kind of perfect as a transition ritual because it is a task that never ends (LOL), but just a little bit at a time makes a big difference. In addition to easy weeding (e.g., mulch beds), I also am working on a rock bed project where I am digging out all the rocks, removing all the weeds to the roots, placing down landscaping paper to prevent weed growth, then replacing all of the rocks (ordered small to large). This is taking WAY longer than I anticipated so I am breaking it into little chunks at a time, which has been very satisfying! (See photos below.)

So, reading and weeding. If you’re super stuck, try that! And if you have other ideas about transition rituals, I would love to hear them!

The section between the two wooden planter boxes is what is in progress right now.

For some reason, the section in the foreground was much heavier in weeds than in the middle and far sections and I am glad I started with the hardest part first. This small area, which is maybe 3 feet wide, took four hours to overhaul! The smaller chunk (in front of the wooden planter) that I finished was much more doable.