An end-of-day strategy to stay effective

There are only so many hours in the day and they often seem to fly by. From meetings to email correspondence to employee drop-ins, a leader’s time can quickly be accounted for without making much of a dent in our to-do list.

Not accomplishing tasks can add stress. We leave the office thinking about what we didn’t get done, and worrying about how that’ll impact tomorrow’s schedule. If we’re not careful, we’ll get burned out. That’s why it’s important to put yourself in the right mindset to disconnect at the end of the day.

Productivity expert Charlie Gilkey has a strategy to help: The “15-minute checkout.”

“With the 15-minute checkout, you’ll take a brief pause at the end of each workday to evaluate the day you just had and also set yourself up to successfully start anew the next day,” Gilkey writes. “It’s a simple routine that, done consistently, will empower you to reject the everything-is-a-priority mindset so prevalent in today’s workplace. At last, you’ll be able to ‘clock out’ without worries or distractions.”

 

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