When you think about the most frantic time of day, mornings immediately come to mind. But evenings are hard too: it’s late, you’re hungry—and if you’ve had a long day at work, you’re probably pretty mentally and socially fatigued, too.
Despite the temptation to slam my laptop shut and marinate on the couch after my extensive skincare routine, I’ve learned that a strong end-of-the-workday routine is just as important as a morning routine. It can help you get more done—not just in the moment, but the next day, too.
What makes a good routine?
It’s no secret that habits are hard, and we all love to think that if we only found the right habit, it would magically stick.
The truth is that the secret to a great routine is just that: routine. It has to be something you can keep up with. So it has to be something that’s feasible given your energy level at the end of the day, and maybe even something you enjoy a little.
The end of the workday is already overwhelming enough, so here are eight tips that can help you create a strong end-of-day routine.
Set up an end-of-day block
First things first: you have to make time for your end-of-day routine. It’s absolutely impossible to form a new habit if it’s hard to squeeze it into your schedule—or if you’re just doing it whenever you remember to do it.
I keep a block on my calendar from 4–5 p.m. every weekday. It’s called “daily wrap up (ask before booking),” and it’s truly the only reason I’ve managed to cultivate a strong evening routine. It started because I’m really not the best thinker at that time of day; pull me into a 4 p.m. meeting, and I won’t have very much to contribute because my brain is toast.
As I’ve advanced in my career, however, that hour has become a dedicated time for wrapping up my day. Your block doesn’t need to be a whole hour, but you should give yourself however much time you need to get through your routine.
If you use Google Calendar, you can even try setting it up as a Focus Time event, which will auto-decline any meetings scheduled within that time period.
Review your planner or to-do list
Now that you have dedicated time set aside for your end-of-day routine, it’s time to actually craft that routine. In my experience, it’s helpful to start by reviewing that day’s to-do list or planner page. You can check off tasks you’ve accomplished, add ones you haven’t to tomorrow’s list, and write down new tasks that came up throughout the day.
You can also go a step further and prioritize your tasks during this time as well. I like to put the most important stuff at the top of the next day’s to-do list, but you might prefer color-coding or time blocking. Whatever method you choose, use your end-of-day routine as an opportunity to clarify what’s important to do the next morning—and what can wait.
Plan the next morning’s focus time
If you struggle to make time for deep work—like brainstorming, writing, or anything creative—make it part of your end-of-day routine. You don’t necessarily have to do that deep work in the evening, but you can come up with a workable plan to get it done.
I personally like to have a block of early morning focus time. During my end-of-day routine, I plan out what I need to accomplish during that block and then literally add it to my calendar as chunks of time.
That exact approach might not be right for you, but you can modify it to meet your needs. The point is to take the end of your day as an opportunity to proactively make space in tomorrow’s calendar for what matters.
Reply to emails or Slack messages
If you work remotely like I do, you know how deadly notifications can be to your productivity. It’s tempting to constantly context-switch from work to messages and back to work…only to be distracted by yet another message.
Instead of answering in the moment, try saving non-urgent messages for your end-of-day wrap up. Answering messages is a fairly low-effort task, so it’s perfect for the late afternoon when your brain is starting to wind down.
It’s also a great chance to intentionally wrap up any ongoing conversations before the day ends—so you’re less likely to catch yourself checking Slack or email after hours. And if you’re going to be out of office or have other scheduling changes the next day, this is also a great time to remind your teammates.
Set reminders for key tasks
As you go through your messages, you may find items that you just don’t want to wrap up right now. Maybe it’s a request for work that you’d rather tackle in the morning, when your brain is fresh, or a conversation where you don’t know the right answer.
To keep those things from falling through the cracks or panicking you when you remember them, set a reminder for each one. I personally use Slack reminders, because it allows me to get reminders for messages in context. But you can use the reminder app on your phone or a to-do list app—as long as it lets you pick a specific time to be reminded of that task.
Be sure to set the right expectations with your colleagues, too. Even a friendly “Thanks! I’ll look at this first thing tomorrow morning” goes a long way.
Clean those used mugs off your desk
Because I lead a remote team, a huge chunk of my day is spent in meetings, often without any breaks in between. By the time 4 p.m. rolls around, my desk is littered with half-drunk mugs of coffee, granola bar wrappers, and a few other bits and bobs.
Staying fueled and hydrated throughout the day is so important, but mess can negatively affect your thinking, productivity, and tendency to procrastinate. During your end-of-day block, take a moment to clean up your desk. Toss those half-eaten snacks in the trash, move your glasses to the dishwasher, and even give the whole thing a quick wipe—that way, you’ll start the next day focused and ready to get stuff done.
Organize your virtual workspace
Mess isn’t just physical, either—it can spill over into our digital workspaces, too. Whether it’s too many tabs, apps you haven’t closed in weeks, or just a multitude of windows, your virtual desktop can get unbelievably cluttered.
As part of your end-of-day routine, spend a couple minutes organizing (and closing!) unneeded tabs and windows. You can even take it a step further and queue up the tabs for the next morning’s focus time. Morning You™ will be thankful—and focused on what needs to be done.
Install any computer updates
Nothing throws off your morning more than the dreaded “You computer is restarting to install updates” message. Even if they promise those updates will only take 10 minutes to install, they frequently drag out beyond that.
It’s already a good idea to shut down your computer completely overnight, but before you hit the power button, take a moment to check for any updates. You can usually do this through your computer’s system settings, but you may need to open apps like Figma or Chrome to see if they’re due for any updates. Whatever apps you use for work, keeping them updated isn’t just a productivity tip; it’s also a good security practice.
Keep what works, lose what doesn’t
Establishing a routine isn’t a one-and-done effort; it’s something you have to work at over time. Give yourself some grace—and space to experiment! Most importantly, don’t cling to any one habit or tip if it doesn’t work for you. Pretty soon, you’ll learn what end-of-day habits set you up for sunny, productive mornings.
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