For those of us in roles that involve problem solving or creativity of some kind, and who spend our lives at keyboards and meetings, it can be hard to switch off at the end of the work day. It’s even harder if you’re “always on” — if your computer or phone is always within reach, and some part of your mind is always engaged with the world at large courtesy of your web connection.

Why Does Switching Off Matter?

A web working friend of mine laughingly comments that he gets his best ideas in the shower. He attributes this phenomenon to the fact that the practical, rational side of his brain is occupied on a task (washing his hair), leaving the creative part of his mind free to run wild.

As a designer, he also finds that he needs to engage himself with non-creative tasks on a regular basis. He feels that this allows him to recharge his batteries for the times of steady creative output.

The concept of switching off mentally from work is hardly new — we all need to take time out to relax at some point. Yet it seems that fewer and fewer of us make sure we get enough time away from the thought processes that accompany our daily work. Not only does this leave us mentally busy all the time, and risk burnout, as my friend suggests, it can limit our creativity and problem solving capabilities.

Three Ways to Switch Off … Completely!

Switching off doesn’t have to mean disconnecting from the web, isolating yourself, or ignoring the things you enjoy or care about. It just means swapping your everyday focus and thought patterns for something else. If you can find ways to switch off easily, you can do it as and when it suits you, rather than waiting for a vacation or long weekend to roll around.

Here are a few techniques I use to ensure that in the time when I’m not at work, I’m not constantly thinking about it. You’ll notice that each of these techniques involves switching my mind into a different thought pattern. For me, this is the easiest way to switch off.

1. Stop sitting down.

In my work, I spend most of each day sitting down. So if I finish work, then spend an evening reading, watching TV, or poring through the paper, I often find that my thoughts continue along the same paths they’ve been in all day.

On the other hand, pastimes that involve a different kind of movement — like sports, cooking, wandering through an art gallery, or playing with a yo-yo — require me to use my mind and body differently. They demand a different kind of focus and different skills, so they allow me to switch off. Find a pastime that requires a different kind of movement than you use at work, and you might find it easier to switch off from the daily grind.

2. Clear your mind.

If you can meditate, congratulations! Word has it that this is the ideal way to clear your mind and focus your thoughts away from the everyday. Not surprisingly, many people (myself included) find traditional meditation extremely difficult. Perhaps we just feel societal pressure to “be doing” all the time; perhaps we have too much nervous energy. But an inability to meditate doesn’t preclude us from clearing our minds, too.

There are a few tactics that those who don’t mediate can use to slow our thoughts and achieve a single non-task-oriented focus for a given period. Yoga, tai chi and similar exercises that require a focus on breathing are a great place to start. For some, jogging or swimming achieves the same goal. Perhaps for you, it’s brushing the cat. If you can identify the easiest way to clear your mind, you’ll always have a way to switch off when you need to.

3. Focus on an easy challenge.

I’ve always been pretty terrible with numbers, so I find Sudoku puzzles a bit of a challenge. Similarly, I find jigsaw puzzles, crosswords and most games that involve skill, rather than knowledge, engaging. Since I rarely attempt them, when I do, they take up all my attention — there’s no mental space for work at those times.

For you, the easy challenge might be learning to knit, to sing, to play cards, or to dance the Tango. The fact that you’re learning it (though it’s not too difficult!), and it’s not related to the kinds of mental processes you use for work, can help to focus your thoughts toward a goal, and shift your thinking away from your everyday trials, to an entirely different realm.

These are the techniques I commonly use to switch off mentally from my work, but what are yours?

Photo by stock.xchng user amoor.

But most of us probably still do more driving than we really have to. I’m from California, the U.S. state with the most cars per capita. Driving is what we Californians do (as you may remember from the movie L.A. Story). It often can’t be helped, given how spread out everything is there.

My simple suggestion, with this post, is that you should try to walk more. Take advantage of the fact that you’re not tied to a desk and a schedule, that nobody’s checking how long your lunch hours are. We can often take the time to actually walk to the grocery store when there’s no rush-hour mob scene, and smell the roses along the way. It’s good for body, soul and planet.

How walkable is your neighborhood? I recently stumbled on Walk Score, a cool site that ranks 2,508 neighborhoods in the 40 largest U.S. cities for walkability. I plugged in my old address to test it:

I never realized there was a hardware store so close by! Or a yoga studio. You can click on the icons for more detail, and also expand the view. I was surprised to learn that 35 percent of San Diegans lived in more walkable neighborhoods than I did. There are other features and plenty of interesting info on the site too. (It’s worth noting that the app isn’t flawless; under “Movie Theaters” it lists an adult book store.)

Now I live in Paris and, like most Parisians, I don’t even own a car. A few years ago, I couldn’t have imagined such a thing. But the big difference is that Paris is the ultimate walkable city. After all, it was built when feet were pretty much the only transportation option available to most. I can’t wait till somebody does a site like this for Paris.

What else can you do? Everybody’s talking about different ways to reduce carbon emissions, but the idea of creating walkable cities is not getting the attention it deserves from the powers that be. Take a few moments to learn what a walkable city is and what walking can do for you and your world. Become an advocate of the movement. Do it for your own quality of life and that of coming generations.

How walkable is your neighborhood?

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC Era
• The Near-Term Evolution of Social Commerce
• Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The Risks

This is not only about my wanting a dog; it’s more about the lifestyle changes and bad habits that can gradually take hold when you start working from home, if you’re not careful.

Before I started working exclusively from home, I was an in-house tech writer at a software company. I lived in San Diego in a cute little shack, a block from where the San Diego River met the Pacific. There was a paved path along the river I used to rollerblade on. Six miles round trip — perfect for regular decompression and staving off full-body atrophy.

Let me be clear about one thing. I hate exercising. I like to rollerblade because I feel like a kid when I do it. The fact that it’s good exercise is just a fortunate side effect.

But after three years of working from home in Paris — not the most blade-friendly city — I’ve decided I have to make a change that will get me out of my chair more often and get the blood really flowing. I’ve noticed that I have less energy and less stamina than I did only three years ago. I don’t feel nearly as fit as I used to. In the last three years I think my caffeine intake has about tripled, too. I’m sure the two are related.

I find that these days work time at my computer blends much too seamlessly into play time at my computer. I spend far less time doing non-computer things I used to really enjoy, like cooking, and things I didn’t necessarily enjoy but was usually a little more diligent about, like cleaning the house.

Something’s gotta give. And since the cobblestones (and insane drivers) don’t lend themselves to rollerblading, I think the next best thing is walking. A dog. Frequently. Don’t worry, I’m an experienced dog mom, and getting out of the office is not my primary reason for wanting one. That would be wrong. A dog is a being, not a Bowflex.

So the plan is to find the perfect pooch, unplug a few times a day, be in the moment and the sun (at least part of the year), and stretch my lazy legs. Wish me luck.

If working from home led to lifestyle changes that you weren’t too happy about, please let us know what you did to shake things up. I could use the advice. And I’m sure I’m not alone.

Image by flickr user jpmath

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC Era
• The Near-Term Evolution of Social Commerce
• Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The Risks