Guide · after-work · 3 min read
Using the commute as a boundary between work and home — the two-minute version, after eating too much
The commute is the only transition most people get. Used deliberately, it stops the workday following you into the kitchen.
Start here
Six things, in the order that makes the most difference. The first two do most of the work.
Do this sitting up, not lying down, if you have just eaten.
If you only do one thing from this page, do the first point below. It is first because it removes the most friction for the least effort.
What helps
When you get in, change your clothes. It sounds trivial and it works — the body uses it as a signal.
Decide the moment work ends. It can be leaving the building, getting on the train, or a specific stop. Without a marker, work follows you home.
Do not use the whole journey for email. If you must, do it in the first ten minutes and then stop.
What to do when it does not work
Have something to listen to that is not work-related. A podcast about anything else is a clean boundary.
If the day was bad, give yourself the length of the journey to be annoyed about it. Then stop. Not because it does not matter, but because carrying it further costs you the evening.
If you drive, do not spend the journey rehearsing tomorrow. Play something, or listen to nothing at all.
Questions people ask
What if I work from home?
Then invent a commute: a ten-minute walk around the block at the end of the day. The point is the transition, not the travel.
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