1 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:07,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to How I Work, a show about the tactics 2 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 1: used by leading innovators to get so much out of 3 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:13,159 Speaker 1: their day. I'm your host, doctor Amantha Imba. I'm an 4 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:17,000 Speaker 1: organizational psychologist, the CEO of Inventium, and I'm obsessed with 5 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,960 Speaker 1: finding ways to optimize my workday. Today's show is another 6 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,280 Speaker 1: mini episode where I share some interesting research about how 7 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: you might be able to improve the way you work. So, 8 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,240 Speaker 1: my average workday used to have several ends. So I 9 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,159 Speaker 1: would end my day at the office by closing my laptop, 10 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 1: putting it in my bag, and saying goodbye to my workmates. 11 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: But after putting my daughter to bed, I would take 12 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 1: my laptop back out of my bag and squeeze in 13 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 1: a tiny bit of work before dinner. And then I'd 14 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:51,560 Speaker 1: close it again, grab some food and return to my laptop. 15 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:55,680 Speaker 1: And finally, when my flux notification popped back up to 16 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 1: tell me I needed to get off all devices to 17 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:03,160 Speaker 1: prepare for bed, I'd end my workday once more. Not surprisingly, 18 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: I never felt a sense of closure on any one workday. 19 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: They simply started to blur together. Now, being deliberate about 20 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: how we end our work date can have a hugely 21 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: positive impact on how we feel about it and also 22 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: how we feel about the next workday ahead of us. 23 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:25,479 Speaker 1: But many of us suffer from blurred workday syndrome and 24 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: miss the opportunity to improve both engagement and productivity. So 25 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:33,559 Speaker 1: to create the perfect end to your workdate, try these 26 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,039 Speaker 1: four tasks that can be done just at a few 27 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: minutes to shut down your day. And these next four 28 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 1: tasks begin with the letters shut so S stands for 29 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: say thanks, and this is where you should take one 30 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: to two minutes wherever possible to send someone a gratitude note. 31 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: This thank you might be in the form of an 32 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 1: email or a text message and express gratitude for something 33 00:01:56,760 --> 00:02:00,080 Speaker 1: that they did. Because gratitude has been shown time and 34 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: time again to be an effective mood elevator, so it's 35 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: an excellent strategy to make sure you end your day 36 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,919 Speaker 1: on a high. So for example, research led by Professor 37 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: Joshua Brown from the University of Indiana found that the 38 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:16,240 Speaker 1: simple act of writing a letter of thanks to someone 39 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: just once a week for three weeks increased their mental 40 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: health for up to twelve weeks after their writing task concluded. 41 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:30,240 Speaker 1: Now H stands for halfway halt, so something you might 42 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: not have known about Ernest Hemingway is that he used 43 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,960 Speaker 1: to end his writing sessions mid sentence. It allowed for 44 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: an easy start the next day because he could simply 45 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 1: complete the sentence and keep on going. Essentially, it's the 46 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: equivalent of parking on a downhill slope. It sometimes tricks 47 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 1: are you know, kind of lazy brain into starting because 48 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: it's starting from an easy base. I now finish almost 49 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,919 Speaker 1: every day midway through a project. It might be an 50 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: article that I've structured but not fleshed out, or it 51 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:04,800 Speaker 1: might be in the middle of a new product strategy 52 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: I'm working on, whereby I know exactly where to pick 53 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:10,880 Speaker 1: back up the next day. So long as I'm at 54 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: a midpoint, starting work the next day becomes far easier now. 55 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: The next letter in SHAT is you, which stands for 56 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:24,280 Speaker 1: unconscious pondering. So if you're particularly uncomfortable with the idea 57 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 1: of not working well into the night, take advantage of 58 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:30,600 Speaker 1: the power of your unconscious mind. This will allow the 59 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 1: unconscious part of your brain to be working while your 60 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 1: conscious brain can relax. To do this, think of a 61 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 1: problem that requires creative thought to solve and ask your 62 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 1: mind to work on it overnight. Alternatively, think about a 63 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: big decision that you make, because research has shown that 64 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: when we switch off from consciously thinking about the problem, 65 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:54,200 Speaker 1: our unconscious mind takes over and is a very effective 66 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 1: creative thinker and decision maker. And then, after having a 67 00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: good night's sleep and then starting work next day, it's 68 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,280 Speaker 1: very likely that a solution will present itself to you, 69 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: and quite possibly when you least expect it, such as 70 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 1: in the shower or while commuting to work. Now, the 71 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: final thing to shut down your day starts with the 72 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: letter T and that is too done. So not to 73 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:21,280 Speaker 1: do too done now. Making progress on projects that matter 74 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:24,520 Speaker 1: is the biggest contributor to our motivation at work. According 75 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:27,919 Speaker 1: to Professor to Is Ababel from Harvard, days where we 76 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:30,840 Speaker 1: kick some goals on our most important projects, be they 77 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 1: major or minor, tend to be the days where we 78 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:37,520 Speaker 1: feel most engaged and energized about our work. So rather 79 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: than just writing to do lists of everything that you 80 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,599 Speaker 1: need to get done, try writing a too done list 81 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:46,480 Speaker 1: of everything you've accomplished during the day to end it 82 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: on a high. Reflecting on all the great work you've 83 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 1: done will maximize your engagement and motivation towards your work. 84 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 1: So that's how to shut down your day. So firstly, 85 00:04:56,640 --> 00:05:00,359 Speaker 1: say thanks, do a halfway holt so stop midway, do 86 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:05,719 Speaker 1: some unconscious pondering, and finally created to done list. Hey there, 87 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 1: that's it for today's episode. If you liked it, there 88 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:11,039 Speaker 1: are plenty of others that you might also enjoy, such 89 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:13,760 Speaker 1: as my chat with Matt Mullenweg, co founder of WordPress, 90 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: where we talk about how he organizes his phone to 91 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 1: create healthy habits, and my conversation with Adam Grat where 92 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:21,719 Speaker 1: we talk about the two things he does at the 93 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: start of every week to make sure he stays on 94 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:28,040 Speaker 1: track with what really matters. Finally, it's great getting feedback 95 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 1: from listeners such as yourself, so feel free to give 96 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: this podcast a review in iTunes or wherever you listen 97 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: to your podcasts. And if you like this episode, make 98 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:37,919 Speaker 1: sure you hit the subscribe button so you can be 99 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:41,039 Speaker 1: alerted when new episodes are released. See you next time.