It’s a battle we all fight.
Trying to find the place in a day where we say, “done”.
Some days, after you’ve pounded out 6+ face to face meetings, driven endless miles, and topped off the day with a client meal, the end is dictated by the simple fact that you have nothing left in your tank.
Hotel or home, bed, sleep.
Other days, the last task is not as clear – in fact you could keep grinding out your task list well into the night.
And rob yourself of family time, work out time, or sit and stare into space time.
On a recent episode of the Hidden Brain podcast, Cal Newport, the author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, shared his end of day hack.
One that allows him to call his work day finished, fully aware that tomorrow will be just as busy.
At his appointed hour, he checks his schedule for tomorrow, his current task list, and his weekly calendar and then he says the following phrase: “Scheduled shutdown complete”.
Did he feel embarrassingly nerdy to admit using this computer-like mantra?
Yes.
Has he developed a following of folks that benefit from the systematic shutdown of their work day?
Yes.
It’s worth a try, particularly in our world where the finish line is rarely clearly in sight.
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