<human>: Could you distill the essence of the text into 1-3 sentences?

Hello /r/dogtraining I'm a recent college graduate, dog mom and soon-to-be working professional. While I don't start my full-time job until the first week of September, I'd like to be able to eventually leave my dog Leo (6 month old mini Australian Shepherd) alone at home during the day, without being crated. Does anyone have experience working up to a daily routine like this? I'm currently free all day until I start my job, which means I don't leave Leo as much as I probably should if I'm going to eventually leave him at home during a work day. I want to take advantage of my free time to set Leo up for success and make the transition as smooth as possible. 

Other things to note: I have doggy door access to my deck, with [grass outside] of it for him to potty on. Living in an apartment. He currently sleeps through the night (7-8 hours) and a majority of the day (5-6 more hours). I will be gone at work ~8 hours/day but have dog walking help from a neighbor. At this point Leo has only ever been left alone in his crate, never in a room or house to himself.
<bot>: Looking for suggestions/success stories on how to transition [Leo] from crate containment to free-roaming during work hours