How to master the crazy liminal space between work and home

The author discusses the challenges of balancing work and home life, especially for freelancers who work from home. They explain that this "liminal space" between work and home poses emotional and practical challenges. The author provides tips for mastering this space, including being practical, being creative, and being enough. They emphasize the importance of addressing both the practical and emotional challenges of transitioning between work and home. Hello, Jeremy Deitch here, and welcome to the Insight Post on 1st of April, 2024, Easter Sunday, How to Master the Crazy Liminal Space Between Work and Home. As the Easter break approached, I was unsurprised to come across a LinkedIn survey asking readers how they disconnect during their time off from work. The survey offered three options, set an out-of-office message, create a return to-do list, or delegate tasks, and there was an other option as well. As you can see, work is the focus of the survey. Alternative, home-focused survey responses could have been inviting friends to coffee, arranging a visit to elderly parents, or scheduling quality time with the kids. Unfortunately, neither approach addresses the increasingly unclear liminal space between home and work, especially for freelancers who may work from home. The Liminal Space Between Home and Work. My friends and co-authors of the Enough book, Kat Preston and Caroline Harvey, explain the meaning of liminal in the book's concluding chapter, New Horizons. For Kat and Caroline, liminal space is a place of crossing over or passing through. It is a place of transition that often involves leaving behind the safety and security of where we were before to become someone new. It allows us to share our identities, narratives and beliefs, and reconnect with our other selves. In other words, living in the liminal space between home and work poses emotional and practical challenges. Moving between work and home is a crossing over. It is about leaving the security of one environment to become another person. One day, you may be required to show your work identity and adopt a parent identity, then reverse the transformation the next day. So, disconnecting during time off work is about far more than practical approaches at work. Mastering the space. Mastering the liminal space between work and home is crucial. Here are a few tips. One, be practical. Yes, telling your clients you'll be out of touch and arranging activities at home are essential. Two, be creative. Your work is probably quite regimented as you follow business rules and processes and adopt a focused, inward-looking mindset. You can be more creative and open at home if you set your mind to it. Three, be enough. Your business environment probably requires you to be more and get more, so leave that behind when you close the door to your studio or office, and as you cross the threshold, just be enough. So, when crossing the liminal space between home and work, remember to address the emotional as well as the practical challenges thrown up by the transition.