How to Stay Mentally Present at Work and Home (Even with Constant Interruptions)

You know the drill. 

You’re in a meeting trying to focus on the latest business innovations that your team is presenting to your trickiest client. 

Your phone buzzes - it’s the PTA WhatsApp group announcing the theme of this year's Halloween Fundraiser - and suddenly your mind is immediately drawn to costume options and the quickest way you could fulfil the ‘Haunted Bake Off Mystery Box’ brief for edible contributions. 

Next thing you know, all eyes are on you and you have no idea what the question you’ve been asked is 😧

Fast forward to the evening. You’re sitting at the dinner table with your family. Your phone is pinging, you’re half-listening to your kid’s story about their day, and you realise you’ve nodded in agreement to absolutely no idea what they just said but they look crestfallen and the guilt starts to pile on 😨

Sound familiar?

That’s the split-focus struggle.

➡️ Physically present everywhere, fully present nowhere ⬅️

Why Being Present Feels Impossible Right Now

Your life isn’t exactly designed with ‘mental clarity’ in mind. 

You work in operations - it’s a ‘jack of all trades’ role so one minute you’re interviewing a new site manager and the next you’re walking through the Health and Safety report from a recent near miss. 

The time you’re on site? Forget actually working. That’s saved for the commute home when you’re furiously answering emails or on calls with your team, leaving you no transition time from leaving work to stepping into Mum mode. 

Let’s not forget the digital noise - WhatsApp, Teams, emails, notifications - you have to be ‘on’ and you never get a proper breather.

➡️ It’s no wonder you feel burned out and exhausted and just never fully there ⬅️

The Real Cost of Constant Interruptions

The constant ping isn’t just annoying. It’s exhausting.

💻 At work: You constantly feel ‘behind’ and can’t remember the last time you had a truly productive day

🏡 At home: Your family gets the distracted, half-listening version of you and your kids' behaviour is driving you mad.

🙇‍♀️ For you: You’re running on fumes, guilty that you’re not “enough” in either role. You crash onto the sofa at 9pm, glass of wine in hand, ready to do it all again tomorrow.

➡️ That constant switching doesn’t just drain your energy - it chips away at your confidence at work and your relationships with the people you love the most, too ⬅️

Micro-Strategies to Reclaim Presence

Thankfully, you don’t need more hours in the day. You need small, doable shifts that keep you in the present and prevent the shift-focus tax. 

♻️ Transition routines

Don’t roll straight from one role to the next - especially when transitioning from work to home life. Change your clothes, put on some music, make a special drink - two minutes to let your brain know ‘we’re shifting gears’.

🔔 No-thank you notifications

“Your inbox is full of other peoples priorities” 

I heard that a good few years ago now and it has stuck with me ever since. Same goes for notifications - every time your phone pings, it’s someone else wanting you to prioritise them. Don’t let them - YOU are in charge of when you check your phone and respond to messages. 

My moto is that I only have notifications on for calls - i.e, my phone will ring. That means if something is urgent, it’ll come to me (think - school calling because a child is sick or your partner calling with an emergency). Everything else - all notifications off, they don’t even come up on my phone. 

Batch your responses - check emails a couple of times a day, look at Whatsapp only when you can reply then and there. You don’t owe it to anyone to be immediately available and your brain will thank you for a chance to focus. 

⚓ Presence anchors

Give yourself cues that say: I’m here. Phone in a drawer at dinner and in a totally different room at bed.

A posture reset before you step into an important meeting - the power pose is a classic.

Even something as simple as a special mug that you only drink your morning cuppa from can help you stay in the present and minimise the desire for a mindless scroll.

None of these need to be done perfectly - choose one or two that really speak to you and watch these tiny resets gradually add up to periods of uninterrupted presence. 

Why Presence Pays Off

When you create these little pockets of presence, everything shifts.

✅ Conversations go deeper. Without distractions, you can focus on the other people in the room and really listen to what’s being said - and crucially, what isn’t.

✅ Work feels clearer and less overwhelming. You can confidently tick off one task at a time, and you won’t come to the end of the day feeling like you’ve been ‘busy’ but haven’t actually made progress on anything.

✅ Family time feels like actual time together, not just bodies in the same room. This one is huge - time is the one thing you can’t earn more of, and as those ever so irritating memes on Instagram are constantly reminding us, our kids childhood will pass by in a flash.

➡️ It’s intentional attention. And it’s in your control ⬅️

Your Next Step

If this hits home, know this: you don’t need a bigger diary or a better productivity app. You need presence. And it’s absolutely possible to find it, even in your busy world.

💌 If you enjoyed this, you’ll love The Load, Lightened - my weekly Friday newsletter. It’s packed with real talk, practical fixes, and quick wins to help you juggle work, family, and everything in between.