How to leave work at work

Create a shutdown ritual that sets you up for success

Since a lot of knowledge work can be done anywhere, at any time, it’s hard to make a clean break between work and the rest of life. Personally, I don’t feel a huge need to make a clean break. I do personal stuff during the work day from time to time, so doing work stuff at night and on the weekends seems like the natural trade-off.

But I know not everyone feels the same way. That’s why many people find it helpful to adopt a shutdown ritual. This is some sort of process that lets your brain know you are done for the day. A shutdown ritual can be particularly useful if you’re working from home and don’t have a commute creating a natural separation.

That’s straightforward enough, and your shutdown ritual could look like whatever you want. I’m sure people have some rather eccentric ones! But here’s what I see as the key steps to ending the workday well, so you’ll be ready to start the next one tomorrow.