Learn Hardcore Russian: Иногда я временно отключаю интернет, чтобы спокойно поработать. - Sometimes I temporarily turn off the internet in order to work calmly.

Иногда временно я отключаю интернет… – clumsy, overloaded at the start.
Я временно иногда отключаю интернет… – sounds awkward; the two time adverbs clash in the middle.

So: keep иногда either at the very beginning or just after я.

What is the difference between иногда and временно here? They both seem to be about time.

They answer different questions:

иногда = sometimes
– frequency: How often does this happen?
→ Not all the time, only occasionally.
временно = temporarily
– duration / permanence: For how long? Is it permanent?
→ It’s not a permanent shut‑off; it’s only for a while.

Comparing:

Иногда я отключаю интернет…
→ Sometimes I disconnect it. (No explicit comment on whether it’s permanent, though context implies it’s not.)
Я временно отключаю интернет…
→ I am disconnecting the internet, and this is not forever (for example, during repairs), but this sentence by itself doesn’t say it happens from time to time.
Иногда я временно отключаю интернет…
→ From time to time I turn off the internet, and each time it’s only temporary.

So the two adverbs describe different aspects of the action and combine naturally.

Why is it отключаю интернет and not a future form like отключу интернет?

Because we’re talking about a habitual action, not one specific future event.

отключать / отключить интернет – to disconnect the internet
- отключаю = present tense, imperfective
- отключу = future tense, perfective

In Russian, the imperfective present is used for:

actions happening now
and for regular, habitual actions

So:

Иногда я временно отключаю интернет…
→ I sometimes (habitually) disconnect the internet.

If you say:

Иногда я отключу интернет, чтобы спокойно поработать.

it sounds more like: At some point in the future I will (on some occasion) disconnect the internet… — not like a general habit. That is not wrong, but the meaning changes.

What is the difference between отключаю интернет, выключаю интернет, and отключаюсь от интернета?

All are understandable, but they have different nuances.

отключаю интернет
- Literally: I disconnect the internet.
- Usually means: I cut off the connection (router, modem, Wi‑Fi, provider).
- Can imply I cut it for everyone on that network.
выключаю интернет
- Literally: I turn off the internet.
- Less technical/precise; often used about pressing some switch or button (e.g. turning off mobile data or Wi‑Fi).
- More colloquial. Some speakers prefer отключать for the connection and выключать for physical devices (phone, computer).
отключаюсь от интернета
- Reflexive: I disconnect myself from the internet.
- Focus on my device or my access: logging out, turning off Wi‑Fi on my laptop, enabling airplane mode, etc.
- Sounds more like: “I go offline / I disconnect from the internet.”

In your sentence, отключаю интернет is natural if you mean you cut the connection (for example, at home or on your computer) so there is simply no internet available.

What grammatical form is отключаю and what is its infinitive?

Infinitive (dictionary form): отключать (imperfective)
Perfective partner: отключить

отключаю is:

1st person singular
present tense
imperfective aspect

So: я отключаю = I disconnect / I am disconnecting (habitually, or right now).

How does чтобы спокойно поработать work grammatically? Why is there an infinitive?

The structure is:

чтобы + infinitive = in order to do something / so as to do something

Here:

чтобы – conjunction of purpose (so that, in order to)
спокойно поработать – infinitive phrase

The subject of the main clause and of the infinitive is the same (я), so Russian commonly uses чтобы + infinitive and leaves the subject out:

Иногда я временно отключаю интернет, чтобы спокойно поработать.
→ I sometimes temporarily disconnect the internet in order to work in peace.

If you change the subject, you need a full clause:

Я отключаю интернет, чтобы дети спокойно поработали.
→ I disconnect the internet so that the children can work in peace.

You can also say with the same subject:

…чтобы я спокойно поработал.

This sounds a bit more formal / bookish and uses a finite verb in the subjunctive sense (поработал). In everyday speech, чтобы + infinitive (as in the original sentence) is very typical.

Why is it поработать and not работать after чтобы?

работать and поработать are different aspects:

работать – imperfective, to work (process, ongoing activity)
поработать – perfective, to work for a while / to get some work done (limited, result‑oriented)

In чтобы спокойно поработать, the speaker’s goal is:

not just to be in the process of working,
but to have a productive period of work, to get a chunk of work done.

So поработать suggests:

work for some time,
complete that session of work,
achieve a result.

Compare:

Я отключаю интернет, чтобы спокойно работать.
→ I disconnect the internet so that I can work calmly (in general, as a state).
Я отключаю интернет, чтобы спокойно поработать.
→ I disconnect the internet in order to get some work done in peace (a work session, for a while).

Both are grammatical; поработать fits nicely with the idea of a focused, temporary work session.

What exactly does спокойно mean here? Is it “quietly” or “calmly”?

спокойно is an adverb from спокойный and can mean:

in peace, without disturbance
quietly, without noise
calmly, without stress or irritation

In спокойно поработать all of these shades can be present:

no notifications, no distractions,
a quiet environment,
and a calm, focused mental state.

So it combines something like quietly / peacefully / calmly in English. The context (turning off the internet) suggests “without distractions” very strongly.

Could I say чтобы поработать спокойно instead of чтобы спокойно поработать?

Yes, it is grammatically correct:

чтобы спокойно поработать
чтобы поработать спокойно

Both are possible. The difference is subtle:

The more neutral, common order is спокойно поработать, with the adverb before the verb.
поработать спокойно can sound slightly more like an afterthought or mild emphasis on the manner: “to work, and to do so calmly/peacefully.”

In everyday speech, спокойно поработать will be the more typical version.

Is the word интернет capitalized? And what gender/case is it here?

In modern Russian:

интернет is normally written with a lowercase letter.
(An uppercase Интернет is possible in some formal or older styles, treating it as a proper name, but everyday usage prefers lowercase.)

Grammatically:

интернет is masculine, inanimate.
It follows the standard 2nd declension (like газет? Wait: masculine consonant stem: стол, интернет).

In the sentence:

отключаю (что?) интернет – интернет is the direct object,
so it is in the accusative case.

For inanimate masculine nouns, the accusative form = nominative form, so it looks the same: интернет.

Why do we need a comma before чтобы?

Because чтобы introduces a subordinate clause of purpose.

In Russian punctuation:

A main clause and a subordinate clause are normally separated by a comma.
чтобы is one of the conjunctions that very regularly starts a subordinate clause.

So:

Иногда я временно отключаю интернет, – main clause
чтобы спокойно поработать. – subordinate clause of purpose

Hence the comma: …, чтобы спокойно поработать.

In standard writing you should keep the comma here.

Could I omit я and just say Иногда временно отключаю интернет…?

Yes, you can.

Russian often omits subject pronouns (like я, ты, он) because the verb ending already shows the person:

(Я) отключаю
(Ты) отключаешь, etc.

So:

Иногда (я) временно отключаю интернет, чтобы спокойно поработать.

is grammatically fine without я. With я, it is a bit clearer for learners and slightly emphasizes the subject. Native speakers freely drop я in informal writing, diaries, notes, or when the subject is obvious from context.