If you find yourself ruminating about work in your free time,
whether it's about something that recently happened
or some problem to solve for the future,
it can be helpful to view this as free labor.

Viewing work-related rumination as free labor can make it easier to set limits for this behavior, improving your work/life balance. If you make $20/hour, and you spend 45 minutes thinking about work on the way home, you might as well hand your boss $15 dollars.

You just gave them that much labor for free.

You may also miss out on your favorite music, an interesting podcast,
or connecting with a friend on the phone.

It may be unrealistic to never think about work at home, but you can decide how much labor you want to give your employer for free, either in terms of minutes or dollars. If this is a consistent problem, I recommend starting with a limit of 30 minutes, and shrinking this number over time.

If you have a lengthy commute, this may work as a natural way to limit rumination.
Draw a hard line: No work at home!

You are the only one who can decide what works for you and who knows how a realistic work/life balance might look. Viewing work-related thinking at home as free labor can help you achieve a balance that can support well-being and prevent burnout.