We built in time for lunch hours and even travel time to go from one meeting or appointment to the next. “Before quarantine, we’d have time to go to and from our offices. Jamie Goldstein, PsyD, therapy experience lead at Coa, says the psychology world refers to natural boundaries between ourselves and work as “segmentation.” Her path leads her back to her flat and home workspace.īefore the pandemic, many people’s days were filled with transitions. Once she’s dressed and ready to go, she walks for about 45 minutes. It just added difference to the start of my day,” she said.Īs she began missing this part of the day more and more, Coorg came up with the idea to “fake commute.” “Having that 30 minutes in the morning to myself, listening to a new playlist I’d created or delve into a podcast, allowed me to settle my mind before I entered the bustling office… I knew I was always going to see something different, lock eyes with someone else, or exchange a smile with a stranger. While she admits the Tube could be crowded, hot, and packed with people not happy to be going to work, she still enjoyed the commute. I think it was only until about 2 months into the pandemic… did I start to miss the daily routine of going into the office and seeing my friends and colleagues,” Coorg told Healthline.īefore the pandemic, she took a 30-minute ride on the Tube, London’s underground electric train system, to work. “I didn’t miss my commute at first, as I guess was a bit of a novelty when it first started. In addition to reenacting your commute, there are other ways to give yourself what a commute once did.Įvery weekday, Hannah Jade Coorg gets up, takes a shower, gets dressed, applies makeup, packs her work bag, puts on her shoes, grabs a coffee, and heads out her front door for work.īut she’s not actually going anywhere to do her job.Īs a Londoner, Coorg’s been working from home since March.Adding a “fake commute” to your day can help improve mental health.As much as work commutes of the past were dreaded, some people are missing them.Share on Pinterest Incorporating a daily commute to your work-from-home routine can help boost your mental well-being.