The end of each work day carries some relief—and the temptation to just shut down the computer and close up shop. But taking a few steps after work will help me get started on the next morning. Here are five things I do before enjoying the rest of the day:
Download What You Need for the Next Day. More often than not, I have some big files to download for use the next day. If that’s the case for you, there are a few programs that let you queue up downloads. Some even shut down the computer automatically once everything’s done. A good program is Free Download Manager.
Clean Up Your Inbox. I’ve already written about dealing with the email barrage, and Darren has gotten some attention for his article as well (which you can probably adapt to do in much less than a day).
The end of the day is the perfect time to deal with those one-reply emails and trash what’s unnecessary, since there are no pressing deadlines to worry about.
Clean Up Your Desktop. At the end of each day, my desktop is full of documents, especially “scratch” text files I use to store tidbits of information I want to use in the future.
I’ve learned that leaving them as is may cause confusion, as you may forget just where you placed that important file. Before leaving the computer I fix everything, sorting what’s left on my desktop and making sure that the information is easily available the next day.
Clean Up Your (Literal) Desk. Now that your computer’s relatively neat and tidy, it’s time to bring the same order to your real desk. I usually gather up all the papers lying around my desk into neat piles, arranging them for easy access the next morning.
Write Up a Checklist. The end of the day is a great time to think about what you need to do the next day, and to lay them out with a checklist as well. Creating a checklist will also help you realize what you need to gather so that you can hit the next work day running.
That’s all I have, but I’m sure you guys have some ideas. What do you do to make sure that you’ll start the next day productively?
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