Ask HN: How do you switch off from work, particularly when working from home?

Seems like a cliche suggestion but meditation is a good way to reset the mind between work and non-work.

Some of the things that seem to help me:

Having a work laptop and a home PC. The home PC plays games, while the work laptop only does work. At the end of the work day, I suspend the work laptop and switch on the home PC. Any personal web browsing is done on the home PC.

Having a dedicated space for the work environment. This one is pretty privileged, and will not be available to a lot of people. However if I need a break from work, I can walk out of this room and lie down or read comics or whatever. My office has my home PC in it as well, but the change of context from work laptop to home PC seems to be enough to kick my mind away from work-work-work mode.

For your situation with a 1BR apartment, it might benefit you to have "work stuff" that is out during the day but put away in the evening. So your work items all go in a tub that gets closed and put out of sight during the evening.

Keeping the work space clear of non-work related items, clean, and tidy. If you're constantly looking at a half-finished Lego model, or electronics project, etc, during work then you are getting distracted. Clear your desk of distractions. Having multiple tubs for different hobbies or areas of your life might also help.

Setting a specific schedule might also help. Showering and eating breakfast before "going to work" can have a significant effect on your psyche.

What you need is a signal for the brain that this is work time and this is off time.

Some people have mentioned different location, that's great if you have the space.

Clothes can work too, but I find shorts and t-shirt more comfortable at home than business causal. Also, I've been enjoying doing less laundry, which is better for the environment.

In the past I've used a different keyboard and mouse to great success. The work keyboard gets put away at lunch and once the work day is over. If you are using the same computer for work and home also create separate user accounts.

You could also have a desk lamp and put a sign on it that says "Work Lamp" turn it on when you start work, turn it off when you are finished for the day.

Finally, it could be as simple as a placard a la Lucy van Pelt's the doctor is in/out. Maybe it says "The Coder is In/Out" or "Work/Home".

I'm in Germany and work for an Australian company. What I do is make sure I have 4 hours overlap for comms. The rest of the day is mine to structure as I want. Sometimes, if there is a deadline looming, that means working until the evening (like today) and other times I take my kids out to the playground. Come back and do some work for a few hours, then go biking, then maybe finish something off... or not. However I feel within reason basically.

This may be drifting into "TMI" category, but... I like to take baths. No, I mean, not just "I bathe regularly", I mean, I take baths specifically for relaxation and to signal a break in the day (as opposed to a morning shower before work if I'm going into an office or otherwise going out).

If I "clock out" from my day job around 5:30pm or so, one of the first things I do is draw a nice hot bath, jump in the tub, and sit in there and soak in hot water and read a book, for about 45 minutes or so. A cup of coffee is optional. When I get out, I'm now in the "my time" part of the day.

I always enjoyed taking nice long, hot baths in the evening, but it used to be something I did much later in the evening, closer to bedtime. But I started moving them up to the "just after work" time very specifically because I needed some kind of act or routine or ritual to help demarcate "work" and "after work".