Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Setelah rapat selesai, saya langsung pulang. - After the meeting is finished, I go straight home.

Langsung means “straight/straightaway,” emphasizing no stops or detours: saya langsung pulang = “I went straight home (immediately, without doing anything else).”
Segera means “soon/promptly,” focusing on quick timing but not the “no detour” idea. saya segera pulang = “I’ll go home soon/at once,” but it doesn’t imply going straight home from the meeting venue.
You can also say langsung ke rumah for “straight to (my) home.”

Do I need to add ke rumah after pulang? Is pulang ke rumah redundant?

Pulang already means “to go (back) home,” so pulang alone is complete.
Pulang ke rumah is somewhat redundant but very common and natural; it can sound a bit more explicit or emphatic.
Use pulang ke… to specify a destination that counts as “home/origin”: pulang ke kampung, pulang ke Jakarta. Don’t say pulang rumah (missing ke).

Can I move the time clause to the end? For example: Saya langsung pulang setelah rapat selesai.

Yes. Both orders are fine:

Setelah rapat selesai, saya langsung pulang.
Saya langsung pulang setelah rapat selesai. When the time clause comes first, a comma is customary after it.

Do I need sudah or telah to show past tense?

No. Indonesian doesn’t inflect for tense, and setelah (“after”) already shows sequence. Context usually makes the time clear. If you want to be explicit:

Past-time markers: tadi, barusan, kemarin. Example: Setelah rapat selesai tadi siang, saya langsung pulang.
Formal past-like aspect: telah; neutral: sudah. They’re optional here.

What’s the difference among setelah, sesudah, habis, usai/seusai, and begitu?

Setelah and sesudah: near-synonyms; sesudah can feel slightly more formal/old-fashioned to some, but both are standard.
Habis: colloquial “after.” Example: Habis rapat, saya langsung pulang.
Usai/Seusai: formal/literary. Example: Usai rapat, saya langsung pulang or Seusai rapat, …
Begitu: “as soon as.” Example: Begitu rapat selesai, saya langsung pulang (strong immediacy).

Why rapat selesai? Could I say selesai rapat, rapatnya selesai, selesainya rapat, or just setelah rapat?

Rapat selesai = “the meeting was over/finished” (very common and neutral).
Selesai rapat (e.g., Setelah selesai rapat, …) is colloquial and means “after finishing the meeting.” It hints that participants finished it.
Rapatnya selesai adds definiteness (“that meeting”).
Selesainya rapat nominalizes it (“the completion of the meeting”); sounds formal: Setelah selesainya rapat, …
You can also drop “finished” entirely: Setelah rapat, saya langsung pulang (understood as “after the meeting [ended]…”).

Is saya the best pronoun here? What about aku or dropping the subject?

Saya is neutral/polite and always safe.
Aku is informal/intimate; Aku langsung pulang is fine with friends.
Subject drop is possible if context is crystal clear: Setelah rapat selesai, langsung pulang. In isolation it can sound like an instruction, so keep saya/aku unless the context is obvious.
Jakarta casual: gue/gua → Gue langsung pulang.

Can langsung go after the verb, like saya pulang langsung?

Not in this meaning. Place langsung before the verb or at clause-initial:

Natural: Saya langsung pulang. / Langsung saya pulang (the latter is possible for emphasis, more literary/storytelling).
Saya pulang langsung sounds odd.

Is the comma after the first clause necessary?

Yes, it’s standard to put a comma after an initial adverbial clause: Setelah rapat selesai, … If the time clause comes last, you normally don’t use a comma: Saya langsung pulang setelah rapat selesai.

How do I say it in the future? Do I need akan or nanti?

Akan (will) marks planned/future: Setelah rapat selesai, saya akan langsung pulang.
Nanti (later) is a time adverb: Setelah rapat selesai nanti, saya langsung pulang or Nanti setelah rapat selesai, saya langsung pulang. You can also omit them if context is clearly future.

Could I use ketika/saat/waktu instead of setelah?

You can, but they mean “when/at the time,” not “after.” For a completed boundary, they still work:

Ketika/Saat/Waktu rapat selesai, saya langsung pulang = “When the meeting was over, I went straight home.” If you mean strict sequence, setelah is the clearest; begitu adds “as soon as.”

Difference between pulang, kembali, and balik?

Pulang: go/return home (default for “go home”).
Kembali: return (to a place), more formal or written; also means “again.” Kembali ke kantor is common; kembali ke rumah is possible but less colloquial than pulang.
Balik: “go back/return,” very common in everyday speech. Saya langsung balik ≈ “I went straight back (home).”

Any useful derivatives of pulang or selesai to know?

Memulangkan = to send someone/something home/return it. Example: Mereka memulangkan karyawan lebih awal.
Kepulangan = a return/homecoming (noun).
Menyelesaikan = to finish/complete something. Example: Setelah menyelesaikan rapat, saya langsung pulang.
Penyelesaian = completion/settlement (noun).

Do I need a classifier with rapat? How do I say “the meeting,” “a meeting,” etc.?

No classifier is required. Rapat alone often means “the meeting” from context.
To be specific: rapat itu (that/the meeting), rapat tadi (the earlier meeting), rapat kemarin (yesterday’s meeting).
Counting is fine: satu/dua rapat. Sebuah rapat is grammatical but can feel formal/heavy; everyday speech usually just says rapat.

Can I drop selesai without changing the meaning much?

Yes. Setelah rapat, saya langsung pulang is idiomatic and normally understood as “after the meeting ended.” Selesai just makes the end-point explicit.

Are there other natural ways to say the whole sentence?

Begitu rapat selesai, saya langsung pulang. (as soon as)
Habis rapat, saya langsung pulang. (colloquial)
Usai rapat, saya langsung pulang. (formal/literary)
Saya langsung pulang setelah rapat selesai. (time clause last)
Casual: Rapat selesai, saya langsung balik.