I never thought Id miss working from the office.
Even before the pandemic, I preferredworking from home.
I loved avoiding the stinky, crowded subway.
Donald Iain Smith / Getty Images
I loved the flexibility to work in my pjs.
I loved not having to run upstairs and drop $5 every time I wanted aniced coffee.
Until it kind of didnt.
The longer I worked from home due to the pandemic, the more I felt my work slipping.
Thats because, whether I realized it or not, they were crucial things called transition rituals.
So we have to create them.
Okay, Im intrigued.
What are transition rituals, exactly?
Let me back up.
But what we dont often realize is that we dont always just bounce aimlessly from one thing to another.
Instead, we sometimes mark transitions with little rituals that signal to our brain its time to switch gears.
For many of us, though, transitioning can throw us off.
Thats where transition rituals come in.
Its really important to give your brain time to reset and refocus throughout the day.
So how do I establish transition rituals?
The key is to beintentionalabout when and how you do these things.
Maybe you have a hard time disengaging from work at the end of the day and therefore cantrelax.
Once you know the pain points of your day, you could build from there.
There are also issues around distractibility, hallmark symptoms of ADHD.
All of these factors and more can make transitions feel super daunting.
Youre worried you wont be able to get started again or youll get distracted in the meantime.
So transitions are spaces where you’re gonna wanna be self-directed and intentional in your choices.
Whatever your issue is, its about asking how you’re able to set yourself up to succeed.
Whats your version of that?
These are transition rituals I can re-create with some effort.
Choose something that resembles the transition time that has worked for you before.
For that to happen, you have to be really intentional in the beginning.
That said, there are a lot of different ways to go about that.
I try for a flexible in-between approach.
Otherwise, Id just keep on working without a break.
For others, it makes more sense to decide on certain cues as triggers for rituals.
The point is setting rules for yourself, in whatever way makes sense for you.
Pretty much anything is better than vaguely deciding you want to implement some transition rituals and then winging it.
Much like with setting goals, specificity can help a lot with follow-through.
Alarms, timers, and self-control extensions can also keep you on track.
Similarly, many find thePomodoro techniqueuseful.
No transition ritualor way of dealing with productivity struggles related tomental health, for that matteris one-size-fits-all.
Sure, learning about transition rituals and why theyre important was super helpful for me.
But it also didnt solve all my problems.
Its important to remind yourself that transition rituals are just tools to keep in your back pocket.
Your most important tools right now might just be lowering your expectations and practicing a whole lot of self-compassion.
