How do you relax after work especially if you work from home?

[C1239]

After a full on day at work how do you switch off and relax? Especially if you work at home? Work is very busy at the moment and I can feel myself struggling to relax.

i smoke a nice big spliff :)

Take my dogs to the beach

Take a long hot bath
Put some music on
Go out 😂 honestly I do really empathise, I find it much easier to relax outside the house than in it since WFH

Walk the dog. Every day, usually with DS.
than hot bath

Drink wine and dance in the kitchen with the kids. Or go for a long walk with the kids and their scooters or bikes.

DD has an office type job where she works from home three days a week. Even when she is wfh she still puts on smart office clothes, even though no one will see her.
At the end of the day she then changes into her casual clothes and she says it really helps her make the mental change from working to home mode.

I WFH, and when I finish work I walk home.

By which I mean I turn my laptop off, leave my house, go for a wander somewhere, maybe pop to the shop or go for a quick pint, and then walk back home again.

It gives me a bit of delineation. Prior to this walk I was working, now I'm not. I suppose you could find something other than walking, but just something to do every day during what would be your "commute" that draws a line under your work day.

Pour a glass of wine, put some music on and lose myself in dinner prep. But tht only works if you like wine and like cooking.

Pyjamas on.

As soon as I finish, I sit in silence for half an hour with a hot cup of tea (well, not exactly silence but I sit by myself, don’t scroll my phone and just process my thoughts) Then I crack on with the rest of my evening but it’s my little break, rather than moving straight from my paid work into my unpaid mum/wife/house work.

You need a transitional activity, that will work the same way as a commute to work would.

So in the summer, I walk the dog (it gets dark too early in winter to work then as I usually have to go back to work after).

In winter, I come downstairs, light a candle and read for 20 minutes.

I'm also meticulous about not having any work stuff on display or even in the living area. I use an iPad for scrolling at night and a pc for working, and I work in an office room. Even if you don't have a dedicated room, packing everything away at night is worth it. My friend used to have to walk through her office space to get to the kitchen and she swears she never switched off properly in that house.

I take the dog out, come home and have a bath and change into pjs. Sometimes I do Pilates or yoga.

Go for a walk
Do yoga
Cook dinner
Watch some telly I've been saving

If you work in your living room - dismantle your work station and put it away somewhere out of sight. I do this every day - I can't relax until my monitor and chair are out of sight!

Then put on Spotify, chill out with a drink, cook dinner, chat to my family/ friends, go out/ do something social, play a video game, read a book etc.

Whatever really, but the physical distance/ separation from work is important to switch off.

I’ll race out the door to get the kids from aftercare, come home, make dinner, spend time with kids, bedtime, tidy the kitchen and go back to work. And occasionally I am on MN

Read a book, massively rely on this after all day on Zoom!

I feel sad now because I don't relax after work!

Pre-covid I'd be walking home most of of the year or on the bus in the winter and that was nice, if there's one thing I miss from working in the office it's that.

In lockdown I went for a walk immediately which was a literal break away from my desk and I found that really helped.

Now I'll scroll and then make dinner and then take the dog out. Come home and watch tv or read or have a bath. In bed by 10.

My work recommends that if you don’t have a home office, that you turn off your laptop and put it into a cabinet or laptop bag at the end of the day.

most days I stop work when I do the school run so I have a natural end of day marker.

If I don’t have an evening filled with chores and chauffeuring kids, these days I mostly like to do some lego or watch some tv.

Crochet!

Make a nice dinner! Then head out for a walk/to the shop.

Go to the gym or walk to the supermarket.

I walk the dogs every morning - 2-4 miles usually, less if weather is really bad. Get back, have breakfast, get changed.

For WFH I dress comfortably (jeans and slippers) but wear a smart top, smarten up my hair and put on a tiny bit of make-up for calls. At the end of the day I shut down the laptop, gather up drink bottle and tea mug, lock the door to my little bit of the garage garden office, walk 10 yards to house. Put work phone aside (still switched on, I have responsibilities in the event of a major crisis).

I have a quick shower and change into pj's, then I've finished work.

Whilst it is just a matter of moments, the act of switching off the lights and heater and locking the office is the delineation for me! Weird as I've had commutes as long as 2 hours each way in the past.

Oh yes, and I crochet!

I go for a walk. Or sometimes have a nap. Or just sit for a bit.

it does help that I work in a converted garage in the garden so there is always the distance from there to the house.