This article was for Fast Company by Matt Silliman. Read the full article here.

It’s 7 a.m., and you’re dressed to head into the office and have your coffee in a travel mug. You sit down and zone out listening to your favorite podcast or gear up for your workday with your planner and pen in hand.

Then, after 30 minutes or so, you walk across your home to your designated work-from-home space.

This is an approximation of a “fake commute.” And yes, it may sound a bit strange, at first. After all, why would you waste time going through the motions when you can just roll out of bed and work in your pajamas?

The reality is, morning routines are often the bedrock of a successful day. The sudden shift to remote work in early 2020 robbed a lot of professionals of the precious downtime built into their morning and evening commutes. Whether they listened to music to keep themselves centered during the chaos of the early hours, or used the transitional time to map out their work responsibilities, many professionals found themselves missing the benefits of commute taking place before and after work hours.

You might think it’s silly to do a fake commute, especially if you often wake up to a slew of emails and chat notifications from coworkers about tasks that need to be addressed, ASAP. You might think it’s even sillier to do a “commute” home when the kids are bouncing off the walls and you still need to get dinner ready to go.

Take my advice though and just try adding a “commute” back to your day. Sit down at the kitchen table or on the couch for 30 minutes and do all those commuting activities—whether it’s simply zoning out to some music or brainstorming bigger-picture tasks—before you sit down at your desk and open your laptop. Then, take 30 minutes at the end of your workday to reflect on your accomplishments, prep for tomorrow, and decompress before you tackle your personal and family obligations.

Do this for a week and see if you experience these three valuable benefits of a fake commute.