HARD force yourself to close your laptop. Seriously.
Then go for a walk just around your block, or go to the gym. Some activity that forces yourself to move
Ask HN: How do you switch off from work, particularly when working from home?
211–220 of 318 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you switch off from work, particularly when working from home?
#212Dedicate a work space and stay far away from it, when you're not working. Maybe get a large whiteboard to hide it from your field of vision when not working (bonus: whiteboard!). Separating work from personal is the most critical part of being able to work from home without always being "at work." I'm lucky enough to have been remote for years, so COVID hasn't changed my pattern but I know the pattern can be hard. Al…
I have two laptops - work and personal. When it’s time to shut off work, work laptop and cell phone go away, personal one comes out. Works pretty well.
What doesn’t always work for me is the physical detritus after a work period - notes, papers, books etc. and even more so, the psychological carry over from difficult or prolonged periods of work.
I find that if I work 10 hours a day (common) during the work week, for weeks at a time, if I take a break, it will take a minimum of 3-5 days with lots of naps/downtime to process the “work carryover effect” and return to a state where I can truly think about what I personally want to.
Anybody else?
Re: Ask HN: How do you switch off from work, particularly when working from home?
#213Dedicate a work space and stay far away from it, when you're not working. Maybe get a large whiteboard to hide it from your field of vision when not working (bonus: whiteboard!). Separating work from personal is the most critical part of being able to work from home without always being "at work." I'm lucky enough to have been remote for years, so COVID hasn't changed my pattern but I know the pattern can be hard. Al…
The first part is great advice but unfortunately not always easy for those in small apartments where that space is precious. One thing that has worked for me is to instead try to detach my work space from being purely work, and give myself time in that space to do "me" things, whether it's reading, video games, creative endeavors... Also giving myself a specific window of "work time", with an alarm set to tell me its…
About small apartments, I work on a desk in my bedroom, back to the bed. It's not as having two rooms but almost.
Re: Ask HN: How do you switch off from work, particularly when working from home?
#214Give CGPGrey's "Lockdown Productivity: Spaceship You" a watch -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snAhsXyO3Ck In large majority it's about making dedicated spaces, which can be hard in a small space. But you can at least make dedicate mindsets spaces. Ex: I do these 5 things to prepare my desk for work at the start of the day, and I do these 5 things to clean up my desk at the end of the work day. These can be routine…
Regarding the phone:
If you use Android (no experience if there is an iOS equivalent), most distributions have some sort of "multi-user" (generic Android) or "second space" (Xiaomi terminology) feature, where you can install separate sets of apps and compartmentalize files and notifications.
This works wonders for having your work e-mail and Slack logged into the second space, and you only open it at work. It also prevents intrusive work apps from having access to your personal space's data, which if you care about it, is very good too.
Re: Ask HN: How do you switch off from work, particularly when working from home?
#215This trick might sound strange, but it worked well for me: Just dress the same in the morning as you would if you would go into the office, and at the end of the day, take off the work clothes and dress as you would normally at home. Some makes this even further and go out for a walk around the block so they "arrive at the office" and walk again at the end of the day to "walk home". Really sounds strange and funny, b…
Reminds me of the book “ Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World” by Admiral McRaven. Basic premise is just making your bed in the morning sets a psychological tone for the day.
Re: Ask HN: How do you switch off from work, particularly when working from home?
#216The (smart)lights in my office turn on at 9am. At 4:30 they turn red. At 5:00pm they turn off. I never stay in my office past when the lights turn off.
Re: Ask HN: How do you switch off from work, particularly when working from home?
#217I watched a YouTube video and this person explained a really neat concept. Your life is like a game. In this game, you have different stats and you must increase each stat. For example, in a typical game you may have: - Health - Attack Level - Money - Magic Level In games, you try to increase each of these stats to create the best and strongest character. Life is very similar, but the stats are: - Work - Social Life…
Do you happen to have the link? This sounds really cool.
I worked on something similar for fun as a side project, didn’t get far. It was sort of based on how the Sims game has these stats, but not a video game, more of self improvement tool.
Re: Ask HN: How do you switch off from work, particularly when working from home?
#218Dedicate a work space and stay far away from it, when you're not working. Maybe get a large whiteboard to hide it from your field of vision when not working (bonus: whiteboard!). Separating work from personal is the most critical part of being able to work from home without always being "at work." I'm lucky enough to have been remote for years, so COVID hasn't changed my pattern but I know the pattern can be hard. Al…
A physically separate workspace was what make the difference to me. I used to work in the kitchen and I honestly thought I could disconnect when the day was over.
Then we moved to a bigger apartment and I got a full corner of a room as my mini office, and it's a world of difference. I would not have expected it to be such a big deal had I not tried and experienced it myself.
Re: Ask HN: How do you switch off from work, particularly when working from home?
#219I think everyone has to have their own routine on this. Luckily for me, I have always been strict when it comes to schedules. For me, I just established what my WFH schedule is. When the end of the day comes, I turn off my laptop, put it away, and don't take it back out until the next day (or for a very rare emergency). After my computer is away, I usually go straight into a "normal day" task like walking the dogs, or preparing to cook dinner.
Re: Ask HN: How do you switch off from work, particularly when working from home?
#220Dedicate a work space and stay far away from it, when you're not working. Maybe get a large whiteboard to hide it from your field of vision when not working (bonus: whiteboard!). Separating work from personal is the most critical part of being able to work from home without always being "at work." I'm lucky enough to have been remote for years, so COVID hasn't changed my pattern but I know the pattern can be hard. Al…
I have two laptops - work and personal. When it’s time to shut off work, work laptop and cell phone go away, personal one comes out. Works pretty well. What doesn’t always work for me is the physical detritus after a work period - notes, papers, books etc. and even more so, the psychological carry over from difficult or prolonged periods of work. I find that if I work 10 hours a day (common) during the work week, for…
Same. Two computers, two chairs, two separate spaces.
As soon as I sit down in a chair, that persona takes over.