Why You Need A Daily Shutdown Routine

Productivity

March 16, 2022

Reading Time: 1 mins

Here’s why a daily shutdown routine is something you should add to your workdays:

• It creates a mental separation between work and home. When you’re working from home, work-life and home-life can bleed together. This results in you checking your emails while eating dinner. A shutdown routine will create a mental cue for your mind to switch from work mode to home mode.

• You can get clear on the work you did and the work you have to do. Most days, you are reacting to work and living in a mindset of putting out fires. By taking a step back to reflect on your day, you can forget about work after you shut down. You can dedicate your focus to other things like spending time with family.

• It allows you to plan for tomorrow. Working down in the weeds each day means it’s difficult to come up for air and prioritize the work that matters to you. By planning your day ahead of time, you can take back control of how you shape your life.

How To Start Doing A Shutdown Routine:

1. Schedule 15-30 mins on your calendar at the end of your workday.
2. Review what you did that day.
3. Process your inbox.
4. Plan tasks + meetings for tomorrow.
5. Say out loud: “Shutdown routine complete!”.

(Seriously, by saying this or something like it out loud, you will more effectively be able to switch out of work mode.)