Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to try a shutdown ritual at the end
Speaker 1: of your workday. So confession time here. I've spent much
Speaker 1: of my career running my own business, and even when
Speaker 1: I had an in the office job, I was freelancing
Speaker 1: on the side, so my workday has never been officially done.
Speaker 1: A home office facilitates this. I can always go back in.
Speaker 1: Even when I became a parent and had to pick
Speaker 1: up a kid at daycare or Sunday sitter home. I'd
Speaker 1: often jump back on after kid bedtime, and I'll do
Speaker 1: some work on weekends as well if there's an opportunity
Speaker 1: to do so. The result is that I would really
Speaker 1: never turn off my laptop, and this worked fine until
Speaker 1: it didn't. At some point this past summer, my trusty
Speaker 1: MacBook Pro just burned out. The folks at the Apple
Speaker 1: store were able to fix it, but I learned my lesson. Now,
Speaker 1: at least a few days per week, I officially close
Speaker 1: out of everything and shut it down. Now I'm not
Speaker 1: saying that happens at five pm, but it does happen
Speaker 1: at least an hour before I go to bed. This
Speaker 1: experience has gotten me interested in the idea of shut
Speaker 1: down rituals in general. I think they're a great idea.
Speaker 1: People who are interested in productivity will at least think
Speaker 1: about the start of their workdays and what they'd like
Speaker 1: to accomplish, but the end of the workday can be
Speaker 1: all over the map. And even if you do intend
Speaker 1: to do a little more work at night after your
Speaker 1: kids go to bed or after you go to your
Speaker 1: softball practice, a proper shutdown ritual can set you up
Speaker 1: for a great evening and a great next day. So
Speaker 1: what should it include? Well, first, it should start quite
Speaker 1: a while before you actually intend to leave, an hour
Speaker 1: or so before quitting time. Revisit the days to do list.
Speaker 1: What absolutely needs to happen before tomorrow. You can either
Speaker 1: buckle down and get it done, or if you work
Speaker 1: at nights, sometimes you can consciously decide to block it
Speaker 1: in from say eight thirty to nine thirty pm. But
Speaker 1: in any case, you need to make a choice and
Speaker 1: a plan. If something is not going to happen, just
Speaker 1: be honest about it and whether it should get pushed
Speaker 1: to tomorrow or here's the thought whether it actually needs
Speaker 1: to get done at all. If there's anyone you need
Speaker 1: to speak to, now would be a good time. If
Speaker 1: you leave these conversations until the last possible minute, they
Speaker 1: will just delay your trip out door About twenty minutes
Speaker 1: before quitting time, you can save any work or send
Speaker 1: off anything that's supposed to go in. Then you can
Speaker 1: spend a few minutes reflecting on the day. What went well,
Speaker 1: how can you capitalize on that, What needs to change,
Speaker 1: how can you make that happen. Are you happy with
Speaker 1: how you spent your time or would you like to
Speaker 1: rework your schedule? Then spend a few minutes planning what
Speaker 1: needs to happen tomorrow. Look at your calendar so you're
Speaker 1: familiar with the day's landscape. When do you have appointments?
Speaker 1: How long will each take? Do you need to do
Speaker 1: anything more to prepare for these What other priorities do
Speaker 1: you have for the day? List your top three or
Speaker 1: four to five at most. How long will each of
Speaker 1: these things take? Put an estimate next to each. Now
Speaker 1: look at the next day's schedule and see where you
Speaker 1: can fit these things in. Taking a few minutes to
Speaker 1: do this allows you to make strategic choices For instance,
Speaker 1: if you have some work that's going to take an
Speaker 1: hour and you have a meeting at nine thirty am,
Speaker 1: you might decide to be in your desk and working
Speaker 1: by eight thirty so you can get it done. This
Speaker 1: means you don't have to find an hour long slot later,
Speaker 1: which might become more difficult as stuff comes up. Map
Speaker 1: out the day and be sure to leave plenty of
Speaker 1: open space. Knowing the plan means when you show up tomorrow,
Speaker 1: you won't waste valuable time and mental energy deciding what
Speaker 1: to do. And yes, schedules can change. Of course, they
Speaker 1: can change, but they also might not change, so best
Speaker 1: to have a plan. Then finally, think about your evening.
Speaker 1: What would make your evening feel good. If you and
Speaker 1: your family have plans, that's great. If not, set an intention,
Speaker 1: maybe to call a friend, lift weights in your basement,
Speaker 1: cook that slightly more elaborate dinner you've been thinking about,
Speaker 1: or read fifty pages in the novel you just picked up.
Speaker 1: When we think through our personal time, it starts to
Speaker 1: seem bigger in our mental accounting, which is good for
Speaker 1: reminding us that we don't actually spend all our time working,
Speaker 1: even if it sometimes feels like it. Then you can
Speaker 1: grab your things and walk out the door feeling good
Speaker 1: about your day. And you can do the same thing
Speaker 1: from a home office too, even if you'll be going
Speaker 1: back in. You can shut the door and consciously consider
Speaker 1: yourself off the clock for a while. If nothing else,
Speaker 1: your laptop will thank you. Do you have a shutdown ritual?
Speaker 1: Please let me know at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia
Speaker 1: dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's b E the number four then Breakfast pod. You
Speaker 1: can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast
Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.