Last week on Notable we listed The 12 Signs It’s Time to Call It a Night. This week we are taking it further, detailing some tips and tricks to help you actually make that move out the door, into a safe ride home, and right into bed. For many YPs, getting caught up in the fun, having that one drink too many, and simply giving into impulsive instant gratification and ignoring our “tomorrow selves” can be a pretty common occurrence. But if you are finding those after-work happy hours are turning into hazardous all-nighters, or if your usual fun times are leaving you with morning-after blanks and guilts, you may need to consider looking to some of these notable tips on how to call it a night and go home:
Pick your crowd
We all have that one buddy, or group of buddies, who keep different hours than we do, who never have to get up quite as early, and who subsequently have differing versions of work night fun. If getting home at a productive hour is necessary for you, it may be best to designate such friends as weekend or holiday mates only. Similarly, if getting home at a certain time is important to you, it should be to your friends as well. Surround yourself with those who respect your need to leave and who you know won’t pressure you to stay for that potentially harmful “just one more.”
Pick your scene
For many of us, certain social situations are more enticing than others. There are just some types of music and environments that get our level of excitement up and our level of concern for tomorrow down. Again, this might indicate that there are certain scenes better attended on weekends or when we have better mastered the art of going home. Do yourself a favour and avoid those scenes that you know will be difficult to depart from halfway through the fun.
Set a time
One of the simplest ways to ensure that we get away from the scene and home at an hour we can be proud of is to make a plan ahead of time, setting a time to leave, specifying to ourselves why it’s important to us, and then sticking to it. If you are the type that is prone to getting caught up in all the chatting and cheersing, make a mental plan ahead of time to help keep your merry mind focused on your initial home-time goal.
Set alarms
While making a plan sounds simple enough, many of us YPs still suffer from that leftover teenage problem of losing track of time. When the drinks are flowing and the convos are rolling, the handy little trick of setting the alarm on your phone can act as a helpful reminder of when it’s nearing home time. We like to set a couple of alarms: one about an hour before departure to help us wind down and start our goodbyes, and then another at go-time to get us out the door.
Grow up
Ultimately, having the ability to leave the fun and go home is an act of delaying gratification, forgoing the pleasures of the moment in favour of feeling better in the future. This is not always an easy task, but learning to do so is a great sign of maturity and self-control. After some practice, that feeling of waking up fresh, getting to that next-day commitment, or simply following through on whatever reason you had for leaving the party, will become reason enough to bow out and head home.
Seek help
Finally, if getting home in good shape and at a good time is a habitual challenge for you, consider seeking professional help to assist you in figuring out the root of the issue and to help create more customized tips and tricks to put you back in control.