3 Things You Can Do To Leave Work On Time

How many times have you tried to leave work on time but it never works out?

There always seems to be “one more thing” to do and what you think will take you 10 minutes ends up taking an hour and you still have . . . one more thing to do!

But you know you need to get out the door because you have kids at daycare waiting or supper to make or you're simply ready for some downtime.

You end up working later than you want, arriving late to the next thing, the guilt piles up and you feel even more exhausted the next day.

It feels like it should be the simplest thing to end work on time, but you just can’t seem to stick to it.

We assume that it is really hard to stick to our boundaries, but the truth is it is in fact the simplest action to take.

You are perfectly capable of closing your laptop and leaving work!

So what can you do to make this easier for you?

First, is to have a set end time. This may be obvious, but make the decision up front and leave at that time no matter what. Dismiss the urge to keep working and close your damn laptop.

Expect this will feel uncomfortable and just do it. Get up from your desk and leave (you can do this if working at home too). Don't give in to negotiating with yourself so that you can create a new habit of leaving work on time.

You can also make it easier to leave by communicating your boundaries up front and having some buffer time with no meetings the last hour of the day or the next morning so you can get done the “one more thing”.

Secondly, take a couple of minutes to reflect and write out three things you did accomplish for the day. It gets easier to leave when you notice ALL the things that you did do!

Your mind will likely be running through all the things you didn’t get done, and we need to train it to focus on what you did accomplish. I guarantee you did more than you are giving yourself credit for.

It might be a task, a great meeting with your team member, taking time out of your day to help a colleague struggling, whatever. Notice the wins and acknowledge them. This is key!

Third, have space to transition between your work and home life. Even 10 minutes to go for a walk, listen to music you love on the car ride home or close your eyes and take some deep breaths. Build this transition time into your day.

You might already feel pressed for time, but a few minutes to reset can make all the difference. Take a moment to let go of the frustrations or guilt from the day and set an intention for how you want to show up in the next part of your day.

How do you want to feel? How do you want your family to feel when you walk through the door? Why it is important to you to leave on time in the first place?

These 10 minutes can change the rest of your day!

Finally, keep in mind that there will always be "one more thing" to do and you will never get caught up. So give yourself permission to leave work on time so you can enjoy your personal life and be rested for the next day.

Now what might not be as simple and might hinder your ability to stick to a boundary is a lack of focus on your real priorities during the workday, dealing with underlying guilt that comes up and handling people’s reactions when you honor your boundaries.

This is where the real work comes in!

This is what I work on with leaders (at all levels) so you really can make it as simple as just ending work on time and enjoying your personal life more. And be the confident, balanced leader you want to be (without sacrificing performance).

I invite you to book a call next week and we can explore what will make it easier for you to leave work at work and create more balance in your life.

During this call, we can discuss your work and personal life balance challenges, identify your goals and dig into what's really hindering your ability to honor your boundaries.

Don’t let another week go by stressed and burning out on both ends! You deserve a great career and a great home life and both are possible for you.

Click here to book a call for next week.

Regardless, you are still perfectly capable to end work on time starting today, so give yourself permission to go for it. It's close to ending time now, isn't it? ;-).

All my best, 

What Next?

You can sign up for Stacey's masterclass, The Confident "No" here.

Stacey L. Olson is a Leadership and Certified Positive Psychology Coach, has 15 years of corporate experience and has gone through her own transformational change from burning out to balanced in life while performing at a high level (both in her corporate career and own business). She works with professionals who want to work less, live more and be their best even with all the demands, high expectations and messiness of everyday life. Stacey is the founder of The Balanced Leader™ program and offers executive and leadership coaching, workshops, and speaking.