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Comment by vikinghckr | Hacker News Reader

Because the commute worked as a great buffer to get into "work mode" in the morning and then transition back into "home mode" in the afternoon. Without this well-defined separation, I never get the productivity boost for work in the morning, and nor do I get the "work done for the day" feeling at the end of the day. Commute and getting out of my home is absolutely essential for me to remain productive and happy.

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One trick I learned a long time ago is take a walk around the block in the morning before walk, and do the same walk in reverse in the afternoon.

It tricks your brain into saying "this is my commute". Ideally you have a work laptop or some such that you can take out in the morning after your walk and put away at night before your second walk.

Nice idea, and also a positive for a well being.

One of my co-workers setup and office in his garage for this purpose. Even though he had an "office" of sorts in his house with his computer and all, it didn't provide enough separation to switch his head-space, especially because he'd potentially be in there on his computer for reasons besides work. So he setup a separate office with separate equipment for work. When done, he just leaves the garage. The point being the commute might not need to be that long. Just a signal to your brain your done.

I've moved from using geographical boundaries to separate work from non-work to using time as the fence. Work starts at a given time and ends at a given time, very few exceptions. Laptop lid opens, laptop lid closes.

It's worked out well for me, but I can understand it not working as well for others.

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