ENDINGS: YOUR WORK DAY

“When the workday ends, many of us want to tear away—to pick up children, race home to prepare dinner, or just beeline to the nearest bar. But the science of endings suggests that instead of fleeing we’re better off reserving the final five minutes of work for a few small deliberate actions that bring the day to a fulfilling close. Begin by taking two or three minutes to write down what you accomplished since the morning. Making progress is the single largest day-to-day motivator on the job. But without tracking our ‘dones,’ we often don’t know whether we’re progressing. Ending the day by recording what you’ve achieved can encode the entire day more positively. (Testimonial: I’ve been doing this for four years and I swear by the practice. On good days, the exercise delivers feelings of completion; on bad days, it often shows me I got more done than I suspected.)

Now use the other two or three minutes to lay out your plan for the following day. This will help close the door on today and energize you for tomorrow.

Bonus: If you’ve got an extra minute left, send someone—anyone—a thank-you email...gratitude is a powerful reserve. It’s an equally  powerful elevation.”

- Daniel Pink from When