How to switch off from work when working from home

Working from home can be hugely beneficial to your work-life balance by giving you more control over your schedule and cutting out your commute. But it can also present some problems when it comes to getting into work mode and switching off at the end of the day. 

How do you get away from work when you work at home?

Get your triggers right

Following the massive increase in remote working in recent months, new remote workers are more likely to work in bed than at a desk. This is a really bad call which will leave you lethargic at work and stressed when you’re trying to sleep. 

Separating work from leisure is critical to balancing your home life with working from home. This starts with setting up a dedicated workspace. Besides physically separating your workspace from the rest of your home, there are a number of ways to keep your work out of your personal life:

Get out of your work clothes

In the words of psychologist Dr. Jennifer Baumgartner, “Changing your outfit after work is a concrete representation that you are not in work mode any more.” 

As long as you don’t have any upcoming video calls, working from home allows you to wear your comfy clothes all day. This might not be a good idea however, as these will simply become your new work clothes. 

That doesn’t mean you should sit at your desk in a suit and tie every day, but swapping to ‘off-duty’ clothing helps mark the end of the work day.

Leave your desk

Once your work day has finished it is time to get out of your workspace. If you have a dedicated work computer, don’t use it for entertainment or social media even after you finish work. Similarly, make sure you leave your work area when you are taking a break, and eat your lunch away from your desk.

Create a startup and shut down routine

Establish a routine you follow at the beginning and end of each work day to put definitive start and stop points to your schedule. 

A quick review of your tasks for the day and preparing the apps and browser tabs you need to work gives you something to do while your brain gets up to speed. At the end of the day check over tomorrow’s schedule and tie up any loose ends such as unanswered emails. 

Cal Newport, a computer science professor at Georgetown University and expert on technology and work culture, recommends giving yourself a shutdown ritual to train your mind to stop thinking about work. 

A relaxing ritual at the end of work helps your mind reset and get back into your home mindset. While cutting out the commute is a major benefit of working from home, a brief journey between work and home can help you mentally adjust and put aside any work stress on the way home. You can recreate this by taking a quick walk at the end of your work, giving you time to wind down. A short daily walk can positively impact your energy and stress levels, helping you refresh yourself after work.

Commit to a fixed-schedule workday  

A fixed schedule clearly separates your work time from personal time. Creating a timetable for your work days means you always know when you should be working and can stop work without feeling guilty. 

If you set yourself the expectation of putting in extra hours every day you may feel good about your work ethic in the short term, but this is an unhealthy approach that will impact your energy and motivation over time.Get into the habit of shutting down at the end of your schedule right from the beginning.

Starting at the right time is equally important. We get our best work done in the morning, so you need to be ready to work to take advantage of that. Furthermore if you start late you are more likely to finish late, which means less free time to relax and unwind after work.

Switching off from work mode is not as simple when you work from home, but with the right approach in place it can be done. Following these tips will help ensure that remote working will improve your work-life balance instead of hinder it.