WEBVTT - The New Corner Office: Create a shutdown ritual

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,

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<v Speaker 1>the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the

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<v Speaker 1>new world of work where location and hours are more

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<v Speaker 1>flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to create

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<v Speaker 1>a shutdown ritual. Identify the steps you need to take

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<v Speaker 1>when you stop work so you can start again quickly,

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<v Speaker 1>knowing you're on track for all your big goals. I'll

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<v Speaker 1>offer five questions to guide your shutdown and then describe

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<v Speaker 1>what each entails. First, what were my big accomplishments today? Second?

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<v Speaker 1>Did I do what I planned to do today? Third?

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<v Speaker 1>What new tasks came up today? Four? What's the hard

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<v Speaker 1>landscape for tomorrow? And finally, what are my priorities for tomorrow?

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<v Speaker 1>The first question is pretty simple. You want to start

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<v Speaker 1>your shutdown ritual by recognizing your bushmans for the day.

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<v Speaker 1>Write them down on the done list we've talked about before.

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<v Speaker 1>Progress is motivating. When you reflect on what you've gotten done,

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<v Speaker 1>you're inspired to keep going. After you've acknowledged your accomplishments,

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<v Speaker 1>look back at your to do list for the day.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you get to everything that you planned? If not,

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<v Speaker 1>knock out any tasks you can address right now. So

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<v Speaker 1>you in the day without nagging to do. If there

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<v Speaker 1>are things you can't do now, make a plan for

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<v Speaker 1>completing them. And if there's something that's still in process,

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<v Speaker 1>make a note about where to pick back up. To

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<v Speaker 1>save yourself time figuring that out tomorrow, you could even

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<v Speaker 1>type start here in capital letters and a document you're editing.

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<v Speaker 1>As for step three, well, new stuff always comes up,

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<v Speaker 1>so figure out what it is and make a plan

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<v Speaker 1>for dealing with it. Assign things a spot on your calendar.

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<v Speaker 1>It might be next week, it might be two months

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<v Speaker 1>from now. But all tasks take time, so designating a

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<v Speaker 1>time is a good way to make sure they happen.

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<v Speaker 1>Question four turns your attention to tomorrow. Look at your calendar.

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<v Speaker 1>Are there things that have to happen at specific times?

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<v Speaker 1>David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, calls these the

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<v Speaker 1>hard landscape. If you need to prep for any of

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<v Speaker 1>these events, do that now or figure out when in

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<v Speaker 1>tomorrow's schedule the prep can happen. Finally, consider tomorrow's priorities.

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<v Speaker 1>Two's maybe three additional important but not urgent tasks and

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<v Speaker 1>schedule these in around the hard landscape. Well, this may

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<v Speaker 1>sound like a lot, it really isn't. Once you get

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<v Speaker 1>into the habit of using a shutdown ritual, it can

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<v Speaker 1>take fifteen minutes or less. You might set an alarm

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<v Speaker 1>on your phone for thirty minutes before you plan to

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<v Speaker 1>stop working. That leaves time to get to a good

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<v Speaker 1>stopping place and then time to go through the ritual.

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<v Speaker 1>Even if leaving work just means closing your laptop these days,

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<v Speaker 1>a shutdown ritual is still time well spent. When you

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<v Speaker 1>sit down at your laptop next, you won't burn time

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<v Speaker 1>deciding what to do. You know exactly what you need

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<v Speaker 1>to do, so you're not lured into a whole morning

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<v Speaker 1>in your inbox. If you have a shutdown ritual that

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<v Speaker 1>works for you, I'd love to hear about it. You

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<v Speaker 1>can let me know at Laura at Laura Vanderkamp dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's the succeeding in the New Corner Office. The New

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<v Speaker 1>Corner Office is a production of I Heart Radio. For

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<v Speaker 1>more podcasts, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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