The drive home.  You can’t remember what you thought about, or what you listened to on the radio.  You think maybe it had to do with work.

You come in the front door.  Your partner greets you, starts talking about their day.  You realize they just asked you a question and you haven’t heard a thing they’ve said.  You were thinking about something you forgot to do today.

You’re brushing your teeth.  Your mind meanders to a troubling conversation with a coworker.  Or you’re mentally running through tomorrow’s to-do list.

Sound familiar?  Maybe so.  After all, the mind loves to wander.

But some of us have an especially hard time turning our minds off after work.

Here are some simple tips to help you detach from your work day, so you can enjoy your free time in peace.

The work detox

Here are some great ways to leave work at work.

Wrapping up.  Wherever you work, you need to have some sort of end-of-day ritual.

If you work in an office, it can help to try and put things in order before leaving the office.  By tidying your workspace, you are signaling to your mind that the time for work is at an end.

Or you might complete a brief “I did” list to give yourself credit for what you accomplished that day.

Take two.  Before you turn those keys in the ignition, pause.  Take a few deep breaths.

I worked with a therapist who, after getting in her car, would take two minutes to reflect on her day before driving away.

She would think of each of the clients she saw that day.  She would thank them each for the lessons and energy they shared with her, and then she would mentally “tuck them in” until the next time they spoke.  She even had a little chime she’d strike to signal the end of her workday before starting up her car to drive away.

Getting home.  Be deliberate in how you spend your time on the trip home.

Most of us have a commute of some kind.  If you need a little more time to reflect on your day, maybe you’ll give yourself the drive home to think out loud.  But maybe you’ll want to sit in the driveway for a bit to put your work away before you go in the house.

Or, you might put on some music that signals the end of your day.  Perhaps you’ll begin planning what you will do when you get home.

Your arrival.  Welcome yourself home.

Change clothes.  Whether you’re going for a run or getting into something you can schlep around in, this is another important cue that signals your body and mind that it’s time to shift focus.

Unplug.  Stop checking your email.

Put your work things away—phone, brief case, computer.  If the idea of that makes you nervous, ask yourself why.

Home/work

What if work is at home?

It may sound nice, at first:  toss a load of laundry in the wash between calls.  Work in your pajamas.

And it can be lovely.  But what about when your workday is over?  How do you “depart” from your workspace?

And what if you’re a stay at home mom or dad?  When does your work shift end?

If your living space and your workspace are the same, you have a perpetual dilemma.

You job is to set up boundaries and rituals unique to your home and your routine.  These are designed to keep you from lapsing into work mode after the working day is done.

After all, it’s one thing if your mind wanders to a particular task that you left unfinished at the office.  But when unfinished work is staring you in the face from across the room, it’s much harder to set it aside.  You’re constantly surrounded by cues that keep you in work mode.

So, how can you protect yourself?

1.)     Designate space.  Whenever possible, have space designated for work and play.  Do your best to keep these separate.  If it’s something you can close a door on, great!  If you have a home office, you can “draw the curtain” any old time to get the visual cues out of your head.

2.)    I’m sorry, we’re closed.  Every business has business hours.  You should, too.  Some jobs (parents, I’m looking at you) will require some odd hours and certainly some overtime.  But you can set some house rules to protect yourself.  If you’re getting tugged to work after your business hours, ask yourself, “Is this urgent?  Can it wait until tomorrow?”

3.)    Lunch breaks, sick days.  People who work office jobs get these things.  Just because you work from home doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have them, too.  But you’ll need to take extra precautions to make sure you get these.

4.)    Pace yourself.  If you find that you often have to put in work hours after the typical 8 to 5 crowd, lean into your schedule a bit.  If the kids are at school and you can take a mid-morning nap, do it.  Start your work day later, or take a longer lunch, if you’ll be working late into the evening.  Flex your time as much as possible.

5.)    The power of the mini break.  Austin psychologist Carrie Contey writes all about the power-packed ritual of mini breaks and self-care.  Even if we can’t afford an hour long lunch break, we can still refuel ourselves moment to moment with simple, calming gestures.  A few deep breaths.  A well-timed snack.  Whether you’re a parent or not, the truth remains:  if you aren’t well resourced, you suffer.  And your work/children/relationships suffer, too.  So take care of you.

Detoxing from work is both an art and a science.  But it’s a skill worth mastering!

So unplug.  Slow down.  Help yourself to a break.  And let the work day end.