How to stop working when your office is at home
Working from home blurs the boundary of the day, making it easy for tasks to bleed into the evening because there is no physical closure or commute. This lack of separation traps people in a continuous loop of working and leaves them feeling isolated without face-to-face interactions.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since August 2026.
- This comes up 189.9× more often in r/freelance than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1keeping a small list before finishing for the dayDid this help you?
- 2giving yourself actual work hours and clocking outDid this help you?
- 3creating separate profiles on your laptop for work and personal useDid this help you?
- 4moving the office into a separate room to physically separate work from relaxation spacesDid this help you?
- 5going for a walk immediately after finishing to create a mini commuteDid this help you?
- 6using end-of-day rituals like turning off a desk light or closing an office doorDid this help you?
- 7Setting strict boundaries or rulesDid this help you?
- 8CompartmentalizeDid this help you?
- 9Practice giving less of a fk to leave most of it at workDid this help you?
- 10Removing work email from personal devicesDid this help you?
- 11Giving the principal a personal phone number only for actual emergenciesDid this help you?
- 12Working bell-to-bell onlyDid this help you?
- 13Working a hybrid schedule (e.g., 3 days in office, 2 days out)Did this help you?
- 14Flying in for a few days of face-to-face work and returning to a remote normDid this help you?
- 15Setting up a dedicated work desk or physical barriers between personal and work spaceDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I've been freelancing from home for a while now and one thing I didn't really expect was how easy it is for my entire day to be revolved around my work.”source ↗
“There isnt really a clear end to the day. Even after finishing what I planned i might notice an unfinished task or remember something i want to change.”source ↗
“Yeah absolutely. It’s the loneliness that gets me mostly.”source ↗
“To be real, it’s the isolation that gets to me most, it’s pretty lonely & I miss face to face interactions with folks.”source ↗
“I removed my work email from my phone. No more after hours emails for this dude.”source ↗
“Whenever a problem happens with a student or parent or anything work related, I can’t just leave it at the door to be worked on tomorrow.”source ↗
“It affects my thoughts, mood and I’ll basically be unable to enjoy my downtime because I have these things casting a shadow over me.”source ↗
“I don’t feel motivated or have enough energy to have a life after work.”source ↗
“Gives me hope I can stick to it.”source ↗
“we find ourselves talking about business all the time. Over dinners and weekends we keep discussing customer issues, logistics, inventory etc.”source ↗
“when you get home late how long does it take you to fall asleep? Do you have a wind-down that works or do you just crash?”source ↗
“I try to sleep after heavy exam weeks and I CANNOT fall asleep.”source ↗
“Looking for any wisdom on methods you utilize to fall asleep after looking at excel spreadsheets for hours before bed.”source ↗
“I worked remotely full time for six years and have realized I’m not balanced or disciplined enough to do it. I got fat as shit, chronic back problems and other nagging pains from not moving enough. Not to mention the mental aspect of being within the same set of walls for work, leisure, and everything in between.”source ↗