The 20-Minute Academic Cool-Down: Finishing your Work Day the Right Way
It's not easy in academia to separate work and private life. We are thinkers and problem solvers, and our best ideas often come to us when we are not sitting our desks. However, we also want to be good spouses, parents, and friends. Therefore, it's important and healthy to make a clean cut at the end of your workday. The crucial part is how we transition from our workday to our private life. Here are my tips on how to do it.
Have a close-down routine
First of all, have the habit of closing down your work. Set yourself an alarm and stop working at a certain time before you go home. Dedicate your last, e.g., 15-30 minutes, where you have a clear set of steps that you follow every day. Don't make it too long. Don't fall into the trap of starting something new. It's all about closing down properly. It should be simple so that it's easy to follow. Some people have a checklist until it becomes second nature.
Look at your calendar
It's a good idea to look at your calendar to see what's coming up tomorrow. Is there something special going on, e.g., an irregular meeting? Do you need to inform someone that a meeting was cancelled? Is there a deadline approaching? Do you need to prepare for an upcoming event? Look a few days ahead, and even peek into the next week. It's better to start early on upcoming deadlines than to wait until the last minute. Making this a habit will leave you with fewer surprises.
Decide on your next steps for tomorrow
If you still have energy at the end of your day, decide what you're going to work on the next day. Choose 3 goals and write them down where you can see them first thing when you enter your office. Maybe you have white board or you put a PostIt note on your keyboard or monitor. Make it easy for yourself to start the next day the right way. This will allow you to hit the ground running. I also recommend having a morning ritual to set yourself on track every single day so you can win every day (see my blog post on morning rituals).
Reset and clean-up
Although it sounds silly, cleaning up your desk and wiping off your whiteboard or blackboard is surprisingly effective. When you come in the next day and see your scribbles or papers on your desk, your brain will immediately be attracted to them. Out of sight, out of mind is the best approach. It's a bit like how we always get hungry when we see snacks or sweets. If they're stored away in the cupboard, we're not triggered. Make it easy for you (and your brain).
In a similar fashion, if you keep your email program open, you will automatically start with email the next day. You would already be off in the wrong direction. Make it easy for yourself to get into the right mindset and remove any distraction.
I usually just keep only my notes file open, showing my weekly goals, which help me decide what to do the next day, since I make my decisions in the morning. For me personally, it's easier to make this decision in the morning.
Look back at your day
As academics, we rush from one task to the next. We are constantly looking for the next step. As a result, we often forget to appreciate all the hard work that we put in. Take a moment at the end of your workday to reflect on what you have achieved. Be proud of yourself! This will also help keep you motivated. If the day did not go so well, use it as a learning opportunity and consider what can be improved.
Use music to shift from work to private
If you commute, you can use music to change your mood. Perhaps you have a particular band you like, or maybe it's a regular (not work-related) podcast that you truly enjoy. Your brain can learn to associate music with relaxation. If you are interested in learning about how music can be useful for productivity, check out my blog post.
Having a evening routine
You can extend the idea of winding down to a complete evening routine. There is a lot of information and entire communities on the internet discussing how to approach this optimally. They discuss when you should drink your last coffee or tea, hows to minimize blue light exposure, what vitamins and supplements to take and when, etc. The overall goal is to achieve better sleep. However, there's no necessity to follow this path entirely.
For me, one of the most important rules is not to check emails before bedtime. We've all been there; we quickly check our email before going to bed only to find a problem that can't be solved because nobody is at the office. We then have to wait until tomorrow to fix it. There is nothing we can do. However, our brain is not convinced by that, and we will sleep poorly. Avoid it. No one's life depends on us as academics.
Consider winding down your work week
Similar to daily wind-down, you can also allocate a larger time slot on Friday for winding down the week. Review your calendar for the next week (or even two weeks ahead), decide on your 3 weekly goals for the next week, and reflect on your achievements. Additionally, I often use Friday afternoons to tackle any backlog, such as admin work or emails that didn't get my attention because during the week I was focusing on my important tasks to achieve my goals.
Work Smart and Be Remarkable!
Have a great day!
- Helmut
