Here’s how a ‘fake commute’ could make working from home a little easier, experts say

Susan Jaworski needed a break.

Like many Americans, she began working from home when the coronavirus pandemic made its way stateside, forcing businesses to adapt amid gathering limitations and social distancing guidelines, KTRK reported.

But as the months wore on, Jaworski said she was having a tough time calling it quits at the end of each workday.

“The longer I went, the harder it was. The blend between home and work was starting, and there wasn’t really a transition,” she told the outlet.

By no longer having a commute to bookend her workday, tasks that only required a few minutes — such as an email or phone call — morphed into an extra hour or two of work at the end of her day, Jaworski told KTRK.

And she’s not alone — the shift to working from home upended the daily rituals of workers across the nation.

Research from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that workdays lengthened about 48 minutes following lockdowns in 16 major metropolitan areas across North America, Europe and the Middle East.

While some may not exactly miss the trip to and from work, experts say a daily commute allowed us to decompress and reflect as we transitioned from our work lives to our personal lives.

A commute serves as “a temporal and spatial separation between all the different roles we play,” Jon Jachimowicz, an assistant professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, told the Washington Post.

And that transition is incredibly important — the inability to detach from work can lead to burnout and exhaustion, Samantha Pieknik , a licensed psychologist in Phoenix, told the Post.

During the pandemic, “we’ve lost time to sit with ourselves and shake everything off from the day,” she said. “We’re working at home and we’re sleeping at work, and it’s really confusing for our brains.”

The solution? A fake commute.

What is a fake commute?

“’Fake commute’ time is about setting up personal care boundaries — emotional oases and a guilt-free space [and] time to check in on themselves,” clinical psychologist Dr. Jeannette Raymond told Business Insider.

She added that this time isn’t about rewarding yourself for a hard-worked day, but rather about “erecting necessary personal boundaries that allow a person to separate family life from work life from reward time and friend time.”

Some take short bike rides before their workdays begin. Others go on walks.

Dr. Damien Lyons, a lecturer in Sydney, puts on his work shirt then hops in his car to drive a set 10-minute route with the radio playing before he starts his day, Entrepreneur reported.

“The fake commutes were an absolute lifeline for myself and my husband,” Ilona Alcock, owner of a business development consultancy in England, told CNN of her daily outdoor strolls.

“They gave me a reason to get out of bed at the same time each morning and set me up for a more productive, active day. Walking outside has a massive positive impact on my mental health.”

But a fake commute doesn’t have to mean leaving your home.

As Forbes points out, a fake commute can mean meditating, doing yoga, reading or making breakfast during the time you would have been traveling to work — though getting some fresh air “is highly recommended.”

Jaworski, who starts her day with a short bike ride, said her implementing a fake commute has made it easier to focus.

“I didn’t feel distracted. I didn’t feel like the need to get pulled into the kitchen, or get pulled into laundry or household chores,” she told KTRK. “It was OK. My body recognized I was there to work and focused on work.”

How to make your own fake commute

However you decide to fill your time, experts recommend making sure your fake commute is the same length as your real one — and don’t forget your breaks.

If you took a few minutes to walk to a local cafe for food on your lunch break, take a short walk before and after your at-home lunch, Healthline suggested.

“This allows your body the space it needs to come back down to neutral after being in action mode at work,” Jamie Goldstein, lead of therapy experience at mental health gym Coa, told the publication.

Psychiatrist Dr. Nicole Washington suggests changing your clothes to help you transition into and out of your work day.

“I do recommend that people get dressed for work in the morning, so then changing clothes from work clothes to evening clothes can also be a way to symbolize the end of the workday,” she told Healthline.

Goldstein also recommends using a song — much like a baseball player’s walk-up song — to help you transition from your work day to your personal life, or the other way around.

Shutting down your work computer at the end of each day and turning your phone to Do Not Disturb can also help put a period at the end of your workday and help you shift into your home life, Healthline reported.