Work-Life Balance Tips: Disconnecting from Technology
Achieving genuine work-life balance requires more than good intentions—it demands concrete strategies that help people reclaim their time from constant connectivity. This article compiles practical advice from workplace experts who specialize in helping professionals establish healthier boundaries with technology. These fifteen actionable tips offer specific methods to disconnect from work demands and protect personal time.
- Treat Personal Plans as Firm Meetings
- Enforce a 7 PM Digital Sunset
- Adopt a Daily Closure Routine
- Pursue a Hands On Hobby Nightly
- Practice the AIPA 1-2-3 Method
- Build a Self Reliant Team
- Set a Distinct Shutdown Ritual
- Block Late Afternoon Focus for Life
- Leave a Dedicated Workspace After Hours
- Declare the Day Complete Aloud
- Take a Device Free Bike Ride
- Join a Weekly Service Organization
- Reserve Mornings for Core Projects
- Use a Clear Out of Office Message
- Guard Weekends from All Client Contact
Treat Personal Plans as Firm Meetings
One strategy that works for me is scheduling personal time with the same discipline I schedule business time. In the early days of Eprezto, work would just expand into the evening. There was always one more metric to check or one more message to answer. The problem is that if you leave it open ended, work always wins.
So now, if I have dinner plans, time with family, or even just a block to decompress, it goes on the calendar. And once it is there, I treat it like a meeting I cannot cancel casually. I also set a simple rule for myself. After a certain hour, I do not open dashboards. I can respond to something urgent if needed, but I do not go looking for new problems to solve at night. That one boundary protects my headspace.
The key for me is intentionality. Disconnecting does not happen automatically. You have to design it. When you protect that separation consistently, you show up the next day calmer and more focused. And that benefits both your personal life and the business.
Louis Ducruet, Founder and CEO, Eprezto
Enforce a 7 PM Digital Sunset
I have a hard rule at Software House that I call the digital sunset. At 7 PM every evening, I put my phone in a drawer in the hallway and do not touch it until the next morning. This sounds extreme for a CEO running a software company, but it saved my marriage and actually made me a better leader.
The first two weeks were brutal. I kept thinking about Slack notifications, client emails, and deployment updates. But I realized that in three years of running the company, there were exactly zero emergencies after 7 PM that could not wait until morning. Every urgent message I had ever responded to late at night could have been handled just as effectively at 8 AM with a clearer head.
The unexpected benefit was that it forced my team to develop better decision-making autonomy. When they knew I would not respond until morning, senior developers started resolving issues themselves instead of escalating everything. Our incident response time actually improved because the team stopped waiting for my input.
I also replaced screen time with a 30-minute walk every evening. No podcast, no audiobook, just walking and thinking. Some of my best business ideas and solutions to technical problems have come during these walks because my brain finally had space to process without constant input.
The key is making it a non-negotiable habit rather than a daily decision. If you decide each evening whether to unplug, you will find an excuse every time. But if the phone goes in the drawer at 7 PM no matter what, it becomes automatic within a month.
Shehar Yar, CEO, Software House
Adopt a Daily Closure Routine
Creating a healthy boundary between work and personal life often comes down to building a clear transition at the end of the workday. One strategy that works well is establishing a simple closing ritual that signals the mind that the workday is complete.
In the experience of leading a distributed organization like Wisemonk, work can easily extend into evenings when teams operate across different regions and time zones. To maintain balance, a helpful practice is spending a few minutes at the end of the day reviewing open tasks and noting the first priorities for the next day. Once those items are written down, work notifications are silenced and devices used for work are set aside.
This small routine creates psychological closure. When unfinished tasks remain in your head, it becomes difficult to fully disconnect. Writing them down provides reassurance that nothing important will be forgotten, which makes it easier to shift attention to personal time.
Another benefit of this approach is that the next morning begins with clarity rather than uncertainty. Instead of spending time deciding where to start, the priorities are already defined.
One guiding idea behind this habit is simple: “Boundaries are easier to maintain when you create a clear ending, not just a scheduled one.”
A brief daily closing ritual helps mark that ending. It allows professionals to step away from work with confidence, recharge in the evening, and return the next day with a more focused mindset.
Aditya Nagpal, Founder & CEO, Wisemonk
Pursue a Hands On Hobby Nightly
I’m terrible at disconnecting, and I’ve learned that’s actually okay if you structure it right.
When I was scaling my fulfillment company to $10M ARR, I tried every boundary trick in the book. Turned off notifications at 6pm. Left my phone in another room. Scheduled “focus time” with my family. All of it failed because I was building something I genuinely loved, and pretending I could just switch off felt dishonest.
Here’s what actually worked: I stopped trying to disconnect from work and started connecting more intentionally to what mattered. My strategy is stupidly simple but it changed everything. Every evening at 7pm, I do something that requires my hands. Cooking, working on my car, playing guitar, anything physical that makes checking my phone impossible or at least really inconvenient.
The key insight was realizing that “work-life balance” is a myth when you’re building something meaningful. I don’t want balance. I want integration. When I’m cooking dinner, I’m fully cooking. When I’m solving a logistics problem at 9pm because a client’s shipment is stuck, I’m fully solving that problem. The boundary isn’t about time, it’s about presence.
I also learned this from watching my team burn out. The people who struggled most weren’t the ones working late, they were the ones who never fully committed to either work or life. They’d be at dinner but mentally in Slack. They’d be in meetings but thinking about their kids. That half-presence is what kills you.
So my actual tip: Find one activity every evening that physically prevents you from multitasking. Not meditation or journaling where your mind can wander to that email you need to send. Something that demands your hands and attention. For me it’s cooking. For others on my team it’s been woodworking, boxing, even video games that require actual focus.
The goal isn’t disconnecting from work. It’s connecting so deeply to something else that work can’t intrude. That’s the only boundary that’s ever held for me.
Joe Spisak, CEO, Fulfill.com
Practice the AIPA 1-2-3 Method
I use my 1, 2, 3 exercise, part of the AIPA (Awakening Into Pure Awareness) Method, which I created for complete self-realization:
1, 2, 3: Attention, Relaxation, and Awareness
- Relaxing the Physical Body
Lie down and relax. Feel your left foot and relax it. Think: “I no longer feel my left foot.”
You will still feel it; you are simply shifting your attention to another part of the body. Continue with the right foot, left and right calves, knees, thighs, torso, and arms. For each part, think the same: “I no longer feel this part.”
Then relax your neck, throat, mouth and tongue, face, and entire head. You will notice how tense your tongue and face were without you ever realizing it.
When everything is relaxed, say: “I no longer feel my body.”
You will still feel it, but now you will shift your attention to the energy body.
- Feeling the Energy Body
Around your hands, feel the energetic radiance of your energy body. You can also feel it around your feet. With time, you will feel it throughout your entire body.
Feel and observe it for a minute or two, or as long as you wish, then shift your attention to your awareness.
- Awareness of Awareness
Become aware that you are present, alive, and lying down. Your body will be completely relaxed.
Then become aware that you are aware, as if your eyes were looking at your eyes, as if you were taking a step backward into yourself.
Become aware that you are aware.
Now, take the body posture you usually sleep in, move your attention to breathing, breathe slowly and deeply with your belly, and you will fall asleep in minutes.
Senad Dizdarevic, Personal Development Expert | AIPA Method Creator, Senad Dizdarevic
Build a Self Reliant Team
My strategy for disconnecting isn’t about my phone. It’s about my team. I learned early that the founders who can’t step away usually have a trust problem disguised as a discipline problem. They think they need better evening habits when what they actually need is people who can hold things without them.
I’ve been intentional about building a team that owns outcomes, not just tasks. That means when I’m done for the day, I’m actually done. I’m not white-knuckling my way through dinner trying not to check Slack. The pull just isn’t there because I know things are handled. That took years to build, but it’s the only boundary that’s ever really worked for me.
Most disconnection advice focuses on what you do after 6pm. Turn off notifications. Leave your phone in another room. Those things help, but they’re fighting against a current. The real leverage is upstream. It’s whether you’ve built something that doesn’t need you every hour of every day.
If you can’t disconnect, that’s worth paying attention to. It might not be a personal failing. It might be feedback about your organization. The question isn’t just “how do I unplug?” It’s “what have I built that makes unplugging feel impossible?”
Steve Bernat, Founder | Chief Executive Officer, RallyUp
Set a Distinct Shutdown Ritual
I create a clear transition ritual at the end of my workday to signal that professional responsibilities are complete. Before logging off, I review my priorities for the next day and capture any lingering to-dos so they are not occupying my mind overnight. I then silence work notifications and place my devices out of reach to reduce the temptation to check messages. One strategy that works especially well is taking my dogs for a walk immediately after I finish work. This creates a physical and mental shift out of work mode. The movement, fresh air, and time outdoors help me reset and be fully present at home. I also set a consistent cutoff time for email and honour it unless there is a true emergency. Communicating that boundary clearly reinforces healthy expectations with colleagues, which protects my energy and supports long term effectiveness.
Simone Sloan, Executive Strategist, Your Choice Coach
Block Late Afternoon Focus for Life
I protect two 60-90 minute no-notifications focus blocks each day and close Slack and email during those periods. To create an evening boundary, I use one of those blocks near the end of the workday as a deliberate switch to personal time. During that block I focus on a single non-work priority, such as time with family or an activity that helps me unwind. Afterward I batch messages and quick approvals into a 30-minute window so I do not carry constant interruptions into the evening.
Eric Turney, President / Sales and Marketing Director, The Monterey Company
Leave a Dedicated Workspace After Hours
To separate myself from work each evening, I create a physical barrier by designating an area for work. I have one area in my house that is strictly for working on my job, which creates a boundary between when I am at work and when I am at leisure.
As soon as my workday ends, I always create a ritual of leaving the designated work area, and I find this to be a symbolic signal for the end of the work mode; I will go back to doing things I enjoy, such as cooking supper, taking a walk, pursue my hobby interests.
The physical separation is key because it gives me a visual reference point that clearly shows that my work is done and now is the beginning of my leisure time. I establish a visible and tangible separation by making sure there is a marked division of my designated workspace and a deliberate action, to symbolically help to create a mental separation so that I can relax and prepare for the next day of work. This way of separating work from leisure has greatly improved my ability to participate in personal leisure activities without the burden of work being carried over.
Josh Qian, COO and Co-Founder, LINQ Kitchen formerly BestOnlineCabinets
Declare the Day Complete Aloud
This is an interesting question that hits close to home for me because of my workaholic nature. I love coding, and multiple times I find myself lost in writing code, more so when tackling a complex problem statement. My wife always teases me by saying, “you won’t even look out of your computer, even if there’s a fire in the house next door.”
I’ve come to realize that I should be working to live, not living to work!
Watching my son grow so quickly and noticing he doesn’t even ask his dad to play anymore has been a wake-up call. So now, I write down the top three priorities for tomorrow in a notebook and close it.
Out loud—or even quietly—I say, “Work is done for today.” It might sound a bit odd, but saying it helps break the mental cycle, and I’ve noticed it works quite well.
This little trick helps my mind disconnect and shift focus to my life, kids, and health. Even if my phone buzzes with new emails or messages, I find I’m much less tempted to check them.
Akshay Dhavale, Product Champion, SLB
Take a Device Free Bike Ride
Running a 15-unit furnished rentals portfolio in Detroit and Chicago, plus a travel blog, demands sharp boundaries after long days in logistics-honed ops like fleet management and guest check-ins.
My strategy: an evening bike ride on the Dequindre Cut trail, right near my riverfront lofts, ditching the phone for 30 minutes of fresh air.
It clears post-work fog—like after rolling out those feedback-driven walkthrough videos that spiked bookings 15%—and fuels authentic blog ideas on hidden gems.
Map a car-free path nearby; even 20 minutes shifts you from host mode to explorer, blending my transportation roots with personal recharge.
Sean Swain, Company Owner, Detroit Furnished Rentals LLC
Join a Weekly Service Organization
As Inventory Control Manager at King of Floors since 2010, sourcing worldwide amid endless emails and sales, I end each day by locking the showroom doors at 5 p.m. and heading to Lions Club meetings with my phone off.
No more checking vinyl stock from Europe—instead, I dive into local projects like community cleanups, swapping spreadsheets for real-world impact. This ritual creates instant separation, keeping me fresh for customers the next day; our team’s fun, family vibe thrives because we all prioritize such personal resets.
Try it: Pick one community group like Lions Club, commit to weekly evenings, and leave work devices behind for true unplugging.
Lesley Upton, Manager Inventory Control, King of Floors
Reserve Mornings for Core Projects
I disconnect in the evenings by treating deep work as a morning-only block and deferring any larger tasks until then. During the day I handle quick client calls and small updates so there are no loose ends to pull me back in. If something requires more time, I schedule it into the next morning’s deep work block. I also reserve afternoons for lunches, dinners, or meetings so evenings remain personal and I can step away from technology.
Tyler Henn, Owner, hennhouse
Use a Clear Out of Office Message
I disconnect by using a clear out-of-office auto-reply that states when I am unavailable and who to contact for urgent matters. My message takes a professional tone: “Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office and unavailable to respond until [insert date]. If your matter is urgent, please contact [backup contact]. Otherwise, I will respond as soon as possible upon my return.” As an employment lawyer who values clarity and balance, this message reflects my commitment to presence outside work hours. It reinforces the boundary while maintaining professionalism, and clients often appreciate the thoughtful touch.
Ed Hones, Attorney At Law, Hones Law Employment Lawyers PLLC
Guard Weekends from All Client Contact
I stop being available by default on weekends and follow a firm rule: no client communications or task switching from Friday night to Monday morning unless something is genuinely urgent. That uninterrupted time gives my brain a full reset and I return on Monday sharper instead of dragging a half-working mind through the day. It also forces better planning and clearer priorities during the week, which improves the work we do. I recommend teams agree in advance what qualifies as urgent so the boundary is clear for everyone.
Callum Gracie, Founder, Otto Media
Original article found: https://pharmatechnews.com/work-life-balance-tips-disconnecting-from-technology/
