7 Things You Should do before Ending Your Workday ...

The most important of things you should do before ending your workday, is review. Review what you did against what you planned to do. Did you meet your goals? Did you miss anything or need to follow-up or communicate with anyone. Move it over to the next day, or later in the week… or check it off before you go. I like to actually highlight anything that was missed, so that it's a priority for my "tomorrow."

Just as important as it is to review your day, make sure you set goals for tomorrow to reach your week's goals. Break these goals up into bite-size tasks towards reaching the final. When you set goals and achieve small tasks towards them, you feel accomplished daily - and that's the feel you're after!

In addition to your goals and agenda, you should have and review your to-do list. This can include steps necessary to reach your goals, or just additional small things or administrative tasks. Write your list, be as detailed as you'd like, and put it somewhere where you'll see it first thing in the morning. Check, check, cross-out: feels so good!

The key to productivity is organization and keeping things clean. Make sure everything is put away and organized for the next day. You won't lose anything, you'll be able to reference back to anything, and you'll feel less stressed. A clean swipe of your desk or work area doesn't hurt, either! A de-cluttered workspace is a de-cluttered mind, and a de-cluttered mind is where the magic happens!

Getting organized is more than just nightly cleaning. If you worked on a paper-heavy project or something with a lot of notes - get organized before leaving it for the night! Use folders, drawers, boxes… whatever you may need to get a project's "meat" in one place. Write wrap-up notes on the outside of the folder… or flag things with stickies telling you when you need to get back to it.

Lastly, figure out what needs to happen first on your list for tomorrow so you can come in to the morning focused! Put a big sticky on your computer, highlight it on your to-do, set a reminder; whatever you need to make sure you hop to it…first!

Say your goodbyes before leaving for the night. Whether this is with a client you've been communicating with all day, or with your office buddy and co-workers, make sure you say you pleasant goodbyes. It'll set your night! When you say goodbye to them, say goodbye to work, too. Your home life will thank you!

Try some of these tips and see how your day and week improves! What other final routines do you like to do before ending your workday, or work week?