Are you ready for the weekend?
Before you head out the door, take time to wrap up your week. Completing just a few extra tasks will allow you to enjoy your time off and have a sense of peace with how your left things at work.
Today, I have 7 tasks to complete before leaving work for your weekend.
Ready to Go?
You are itching to leave work and enjoy your time off.
Yet, you don’t want to be stressing all weekend about what undone work you left behind, and more still, what will be waiting for you on Monday.
Here are 7 Tasks to Do Before You Head Out for Your Weekend:
- Review Your Todo List – To prevent yourself from stressing all weekend about undone work, review your todo list so that you know that all loose ends were addressed. Do this early in the afternoon so that you will have some time to remedy any tasks that need to be wrapped up.
- Look at Next Week’s Calendar – To prevent any surprises next week, check your calendar before departing. You will avoid any appointments that are sneaking up on you. As well, you have time to resolve any conflicts or overlaps in your obligations next week.
- Clean Up Your Workspace – You don’t want to return to a messy desk on Monday. Take 5 minutes and clean up your area so that you have a clean start upon your return.
- Prepare for Monday – You have looked at your todo list and your calendar. Make sure you prepare for Monday’s events before heading out the door. It can be as simple as reading materials for Monday’s meetings. Or maybe laying out the files for next week’s projects.
- Empty Your Inbox – Inbox Zero can be an elusive goal for many. I recommend attacking this goal on a smaller timeframe. Before you leave, empty your inbox back to the start of this week. That way you know you have not left any loose ends or communications open. Do this every week and soon you will have a powerful email habit in place.
- Review Your Goals – Your BIG goals often get pushed aside by the busyness of your week. Review your goals, and see if you made progress on them. If you have not been giving them the attention they need, then spend some time moving them forward even a few small steps.
- Write in Your Journal – This doesn’t have to take more than 5 minutes. It can even be on your smart phone. It can be as simple as opening your journal app and writing a few sentences on what you accomplished and what you learned this week.
Set Yourself Up For Success When You Leave
It can be tempting to charge out the door for your weekend. Yet, you don’t need the stress of undone work haunting your time off.
Make sure you “close up shop” before you leave for the weekend. As well, prepare for the coming week to give yourself a head start.
Not only will you have peace of mind about what you left behind, but you will have positive momentum upon your return to work.
Question: What tasks do you do before you head out for your weekend? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
It all comes down to organization and the systems you have in place to support organzing your life. Most people run through life hapharzrdly and wonder why they can’t find their keys(or forget them at a friend’s house!) because they don’t have the proper systems like a commonplace for everything.
I’m notoriously bad at forgetting important items when I return home from my parents every weekend. Do you think it’s possible this is part of a overvasiedy of confidence bias that humans have? Similar to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overconfidence_effect