It’s Friday. For many, it’s the last official working day of the week.
Official, because too many people end up doing work on the weekend.
Or having anxious thoughts about work that they know is waiting for them come Monday.
Park It
You may not feel safe saying no to work on the weekend yet. If that’s true for you, commit to understanding why you don’t feel safe setting and holding a boundary around your personal time.
If you feel like you probably could set a boundary but you seem to end up worrying about work anyway, then you are likely dealing with what the Getting Things Done process would call “open loops.”
Open loops can be described as anything unresolved that’s pulling on your attention. The solution to open loops is to build a habit of capturing your commitments and promises, then identifying what the next action you need to take towards that commitment and when you need to take it.
When you capture those things someplace you can rely on (a list in your Notes app, in a notebook, or using a digital tool), then your brain learns to trust that those things are “handled.” It doesn’t need to keep tossing them up into your conscious mind to worry about them.
Wrap Up
Block time (1-2 hours) at the end of your workweek to do these things –
- Review your commitments and promises
- Identify the next action you need to take, and when to take it
- Capture those things in one consistent place
- Celebrate your wins from the Intentions met during your week
- Check out of work – say “I am complete, I have done my work for the week. I will pick up again after my weekend.”
- Go enjoy your time outside of work.
You can do this. I can help.