3 things to do after 5 pm to be more successful
Some of the most important stuff you do for your work life actually happens when you’re off the clock for the day–and some of it is stuff you should be doing anyway. Get the lowdown on what successful people do post-5:00 and get ready to slay at work and in life in general. Now get going, girl!
They tie up loose ends to prep for tomorrow.
Before racing to the subway, reply to any emails you didn’t get to during the day, even if it’s just to say, “Hey, got your message and I’ll look into the matter tomorrow.” Open any windows or tabs you’ll need in the morning, and make a to-do list with your most difficult or laborious stuff up first. You’ll be able to get right to it once you sit down, which is a big help if you’re still half-asleep from the night before. And on that note …
They take good care of themselves physically.
I already explained why, if you think you have a new strain of the avian flu, you need to stay home and not infect us all. (Seriously, if you watch The Walking Dead, you’ll know just how dangerous you really are.) They work out, eat well (okay, maybe not all of us, but pumpkin cheesecake tastes better than broccoli), and they sleep. Really, as much as you want to extend your Sunday Funday into early Monday, aim for at least eight hours. You can’t get much done if you keep dozing off and drooling onto your keyboard for the first half of your shift.
They have a work-life balance.
For a long time when I exclusively worked from home, I figured if I wasn’t wearing pants that I wasn’t really working, and I let chasin’ paper consume me. Bad move. I missed out on time with my nephew, who is the cutest creature on this planet, I snapped at my loved ones and was generally miserable to be around until I pulled the plug and set boundaries with my superiors. Just because you can be available 24/7 doesn’t mean you need to be or that you should be. And really, unless you’re a cop or a surgeon in the ER, you shouldn’t be. Your morale will suffer and so will your work as a whole–and that defeats the entire purpose of your being glued to your email in the first place. Relax!
