Stop Working So Late: How to Get Out The Door On Time
Friday, October 03, 2014
Last year the average American worked more than 45 hours in a given week. At least one third of workers spent more than 50 hours at work each week.
And, even worse, once home, about 80 percent spent additional time answering emails, or returning phone calls.
All this, despite the fact that study after study shows that people who work more, and take on more work stress, actually get less done.
Working longer hours doesn’t actually make someone more productive. In fact, studies from the earliest times of industrialization show that after 40 hours, productivity tips up slightly, and then becomes a matter of diminishing returns.
The more hours worked, the less one actually gets done. In short: Work more, accomplish less.
Still, many workers fight to leave on time. For many, there’s stigmatization. If they leave on time, they fear looking like slackers.
For others, terrible work habits and confused priorities are at play.
Still others have a hard time managing the always-on connectedness, and its separation from any semblance of a “personal life.”
Whatever the reason, those who can’t get out the door on time need to re-evaluate.
Here are seven tips to do just that.
1. Decide what time to leave, and work backwards
This sounds basic, but many people don’t leave work on time because they don’t have the belief that they will.
Instead, they work on whatever comes up and commit the biggest sin in time management: Not blocking time on their calendar for priority work.
So at the end of the day, there’s still a pile of work to do—all because they didn’t plan their exit strategy appropriately.
After arriving in the morning, identify the time you want to leave that night. Block that timeline on the calendar, set an alarm on your mobile phone, or psychologically commit to that departure time.
Joining a class, social or exercise group that convenes right after work can help you meet that commitment.
2. Tell people when you plan to leave
By telling others when they’re leaving, employees set the expectation that there’s a time boundary for their day. They can warn colleagues, “I’m leaving by 5 tonight, so be sure you get any requests to me by 3.”
Once expectations are set with co-workers, there’s a lower possibility they’ll come looking for last-minute assignments.
By trying this method one day, then another, and then the next, employees will eventually retrain colleagues to expect you to leave on time every day.
Plus, saying it aloud and owning the goal to leave on time will help employees feel more empowered in their ability to do so.
3. Build in transition time
Once the office departure time is set, block out the 20 minutes prior on the calendar to clean up any last daily details (e.g., filing papers, organizing the workspace, and making sure all essential email is cleared out) and get ready for tomorrow.
The last few minutes are as key as an important meeting with a boss or a client—i.e., nothing should interfere with it, and no one should schedule in “one last meeting.”
This priority time is nonnegotiable.
4. Schedule the most important priorities
Ensure critical work is being done—the earlier the better. Working on a C-priority project because it’s more fun or less difficult than an A-priority project is tempting, but makes no sense. Working on email may feel productive, but it doesn’t help finish the monthly executive report that’s due or the agenda for the next week’s customer meeting.
A quick litmus test can determine if time is spent on the right priorities. Create a list with two columns. On the left side, list the three to five most acute priorities. On the right side, list all work tasks accomplished for the day. At the end of the day, compare. What percent of the right column directly supported the left?
If there’s not a good match, reevaluate the work being done throughout the day. Getting the most important priorities accomplished will not only make it easier to leave on time, but will also provide a greater sense of satisfaction about the work.
5. Stop wasting time during the day
Employees constantly at the office late at night should take a few minutes to evaluate work practices during the day. Is email being checked every five minutes? Is every text getting an immediate response? Is instant messaging a constant distraction?
While it may seem necessary to constantly stay in touch with colleagues, constant distraction can seriously undermine productivity and focus, and all of these habits sabotage the ability to leave work on time.
Instead, check email only at a few designated times during the day and block time on your calendar to turn off all your incoming distractions and hunker down to work on priorities.
6. Pick up the phone
Speaking of productivity: Email is a great tool for many things, but it can also easily become a time-consuming crutch—because often, a phone conversation takes less time and can be more effective.
If you're one of those employees with a cluttered inbox and ongoing strings of messages that never seem to reach a resolution, and it’s holding up your work, then it’s time to change your strategy: Pick up the phone. A simple call will save hours of email reading, sorting, and responding.
7. Use technology to focus
There are myriad apps and online tools that can help workers stay focused during the day. For example, 30/30 helps users stay on task for a specific time frame, and Freedom disconnects users from the Internet, allowing uninterrupted work time.
At the very least, alerts, icons, and other visual and auditory “notifications” should be silenced. Getting out of work on time is about managing that workflow, not the other way around.
Life is short; time is precious. Doing great work and giving a job 100 percent doesn’t have to mean spending hours of overtime at the office.
The solution? Prioritize responsibilities, minimize distractions, set the right expectations—and then, leave work on time.
Banner Photo Credit: Alan Cleaver via Compfight cc
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