For most Life Editors, the start of your workday is when you feel most in control.

That’s when your mind is sharp and you can plow through your tasks at lightning speed. But you tend to muck up the end of your day simply because you’re tired and your comfy couch is calling your name.

Just because the day is over doesn’t mean you should collapse into a frazzled blob!

You can feel like your best self even if you’ve been typing for hours or standing on your feet all day.

In today’s video, we’re going to edit the end of your workday so you can feel capable and organized.

Now you’ll avoid the dreaded burnout and learn to love your work even more!

The video transcript is below for your convenience.

Video Transcript

Hey there! I’m Sage Grayson, and I help ambitious career women edit their habits, routines, and mindsets to balance their happiness at work and home. I’m a Life Editor…and so are you!

Today, we’re talking about how to end your workday on a positive and productive note. Let’s go!

Most of us have some kind of job, whether you work for another company, run your own business, or do both.

And no matter how much you love the work you do and the people you help, at the end of a long, busy, tiring day, all you want to do is pack up your stuff and go.

See ya!

But instead of racing to quitting time and then leaving your projects half finished or with random piles of paper cluttering up your desk, why not take a moment to end your workday properly?

Wouldn’t it be nice to slow down, get yourself situated, make a plan for tomorrow, and end your workday like a capable human being rather than a frazzled, stressed out robot?

Believe me, creating a satisfying end to your workday will help you avoid the dreaded burnout and make you love your job even more.

Here 3 positive and productive ways to end your workday.

1. Do a Wrap-up Ritual

Thirty minutes before quitting time, stop what you’re doing and start preparing yourself for leaving the office or workspace. For some of you, this might mean getting ready for your commute, or for me, my commute involves standing up and walking 10 steps to the living room.

What can you do to shut your brain off from “work mode” and get it to switch gears?

You could clean up your desk, go to the bathroom, pack up your bag, and close down your computer.

I also recommend adding some self-care into your wrap-up ritual by listening to a favorite song or doing some light stretching since you’ve been sitting all day.

A wrap-up ritual will give you that decompression time between work and play, and help you feel calm and organized so you’re not rushing to catch the train in your high heels.

2. Review Your To-Do List

I think this is a pretty obvious thing to do, but I realize that not everyone thinks like me. It’s easy to just grab your coat, head out the door, and worry about what you’ll do next in the morning.

But if you’re now giving yourself a full 30 minutes to wind down before you leave, you absolutely have time to review your to-do list.

First, determine what didn’t get done today. Don’t beat yourself up, just be honest with yourself about how much work you can do with the little time you have.

Next, look at tomorrow’s calendar and make note of any meetings or appointments. What things will eat into the time that you need for other projects?

Finally, choose 3 main priorities for tomorrow and write them where you can see them, maybe put a Post-It note on your monitor. Do those 3 tasks before you do anything else, so if you run out of time, at least the most important things got done.

By reviewing your to-do list, you’ll know exactly what you accomplished and what you have on your plate for the next day. Now you can enjoy your evening knowing that there will be no surprises in the morning.

3. Have a Meaningful Connection

No matter what kind of job you have, your work affects other people. I’m 99% certain that you don’t work in a cave somewhere, and that means you can use the end of your workday to remind yourself that the human connection is what’s truly important.

Who can you reach out to at the end of the day?

You could talk with your coworkers about your weekend plans, have a quick meeting with your manager to make sure you’re on the same page, or text your partner about what you want to do tonight.

I’ll admit that I often get caught up in my work and forget about the people I’m doing this work for. So take a moment to have a meaningful connection and remind yourself that people are what matter.

Those are my 3 positive and productive ways to end your workday. Now I want to hear from you! Leave a comment below and let me know what you do to feel good before you leave the office.

If you like this video, please come on over to SageGrayson.com and sign up for my Editor’s Toolkit. You’ll get weekly updates from me, plus sage advice I only share in email.

Thanks for watching. I’ll see you soon.

This post focuses on Step 4 of the Life Editing Process, Rearrange Everything Into a Perfect Flow. For more about life editing and what it can do for you, click here.