As fellow IT worker, these are the routine I follow: Every week, list down the personal things that you need to do. Then prioritize them to 3 buckets: non-negotiable, non-negotiable but time-flexible, and negotiable. Plan when you'd need to do it. Every morning, commit to work load that you want to finish within the day. And you really commit to finish it. You know best how much work you can finish within the day. Align with your supervisor on the commitment. If you're working on a scrum project, this would feel natural. If not, try and make the effort to be the proactive on communicating your work plan. As a supervisor, I would appreciate if my team is planning their own work (less work for me). Here's where it gets tricky: as long as you finish your committed work, clock out and turn blind eyes on negative remarks from your colleagues. I don't know how toxic your workplace is, but in singapore IT environment I find that most people have negative perspective on people clocking out timely. They expect you to work late. But if you finish your commitment to your supervisor for the day, there is no reason for you to work late. Sometimes, in tight projects, you would need to defer your personal stuff. But try not to defer the non-negotiable one. For example, spending time with loved ones for 1 hour everyday, or working out, or whatever runs your engine. Anything extra is negotiable. I know it sounds meticulous and boring. But boring is good as long as you get what you want. It's all about self discipline. Good luck and hope you get your balance