Time Management

End of the Day Routines

One thing I’ve found that really helps me to keep my priorities straight and be organized is actually taking the time to be organized. I know I’ve talked to a lot of people who say they are so swamped at work–when would they ever have time to clean their desk? But when I take the last ten minutes of my day on Friday to compose my thoughts and get things straightened up and otherwise clean and ready to jump in full throttle when I return Monday morning, its amazing how much more productive my Monday becomes!

One of the sources of my inspiration for doing this was from a message on a home-organizing mailing list about how to apply some of the same principles to your office. Here is a short exerpt suggesting ideas of how to rev up for the next day before you leave the office:

End of Day Routine — Don’t start this 2 minutes before you walk out the door.

1. Clear off your desk and straighten your top drawer
2. Start a To Do list for tomorrow.
3. Make a list of calls to make.
4. Turn off computers and other appliances (coffee pot, copy machines etc)
5. Pack up your stuff to go home. Lunch bag, Brief Cases, home work, comfortable shoes, etc.
6. Check your piles and put projects in order of priority for the morning.
7. Turn off lights.
8. Leave your desk in wonderful shape to welcome you in the morning. Look back on your office and smile.

— http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FlyLadyMentors/message/35942

I found that to be a really great idea, and took the idea and modified it slightly for my own needs, like I typically don’t have lists of phone calls to make, but I do need to be sure my office-plants are sufficiently watered before I leave for the weekend so I don’t come in to droopy ivy Monday morning.