Set Yourself a Deadline & Go Home
How an artificial (or real) dismissal time can increase your efficiency
Before I had kids, I’d stay in the office for 10-12 hours. It was like a second home where I worked a lot, ate my meals, and got to know some incredible people.
After I had kids, my in office hours went way down. If any of you are parents, you’ll know why - school drop off is at 8:30, commute is an hour, and then you’ve got to leave by 3pm in order to get one kid to dance and the other to tutoring. After that, you’ve got to get everyone home, make dinner and do all the things.
Parents don’t have the time to mess around and neither should you.
You see, becoming a parent meant I had a non-negotiable deadline to get out of the office every day. I know we all have different experiences, but as a single mom, I do not have a choice as to when I get to leave. There is no partner to share the load with. If I don’t leave the office on time, life falters.
And if I don’t do my work on schedule, work falters.
So, I have to be as strategic as possible with my time. And I think a lot of parents can relate, single or not.
If you’re struggling to leave the office at a decent hour, or you can’t seem to get your work done on time, you need an official dismissal time. Here’s what to do:
Decide to leave by a certain time - maybe you arrange a regular dinner time with your roomate, sign up for weekly yoga, or just commit to running more.
Work as though you must leave by the dismissal time.
Imagine that at the dismissal time, a school bell rings and you need to gather your things and head out.
Having a real dismissal time will help you stay focused and get your work done. If you know you’re limited on time, you’re much more likely to get things done than if you think you have all the time in the world.
Act like you’re super limited on time and watch your efficiency sky rocket.
Links I loved this week:
Menopause is finally starting to get some well deserved attention
This butter bean recipe with ricotta & pesto sounds incredible
Using AI for dogs (lol)