How to End Your Day

At the end of the day, there has to be an end of the day.

In other words, know when it’s time to stop working. Set boundaries around your time. Work won’t stop, but we can.

But how can we get everything done? In one way, we can’t. As long as we live, we’ll have stuff we need to do. In any job, any position, any age, any organization, and any personal goals. Even babies discover right away they have assignments—get fed, get their diaper changed, get whatever else they need from someone. That’s called “delegating”.

The load will wax and wane in various seasons of life, but the completion of it all won’t end until we do here on earth.

That’s actually more encouraging than it seems. Why? Since that’s an unrealistic expectation, it means we don’t need to expect it of ourselves. At least not in terms of the all-encompassing “everything”.

At the same time, we can define the “everything” we need to complete in a day, a week, a month, a quarter, a year, and so on. We do that by:

• Setting the boundary for each day before starting it. Decide ahead of time when it ends, in terms of getting stuff done.
• Defining what we really need to get done in each of those periods of time. For example, if the bill has to be paid by this date, the deadline for completion is “end of day”, etc., that means “do it today”.
• Prioritizing so those “have to”s do get done. Using Michael Hyatt’s matrix of urgent and important– whatever is both important and urgent, do that first. Then decide between whatever’s urgent but not so important, or important but not so urgent. Hint—if the professor, boss, leader, says it’s urgent, it’s urgent.
• Leaving the rest as “hope to”s—at least for now, until they become more urgent and/or important.
• Keeping the “have-to-do” list short enough to not feel pressured to keep going past the time limit to get it all done.
• Not taking on too much to begin with. Ask “Is this really for me to do?” Not to encourage irresponsibility, although, it’s likely that people who have trouble ending their day aren’t lazy to begin with. This leads to–
• Delegating. That skill we naturally developed as babies comes in handy as a lifelong, lifesaving, skill. Moses in the Bible learned this lesson from his father-in-law, when he was trying to judge a million people by himself (see Ex. 18:13-26).
• Realizing that whatever doesn’t get done today will still get done in time as long as we pace ourselves. Our productivity is proportionate to our energy and concentration. Trying to cram more into a never-ending day will result in a decline in both.

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Ps. 90:12

Here’s an example, from my own life: As with many (if not all of us), I’m easily distracted by “Do this NOW!” signals entering my mind. How do these signals come? Sometimes they’re someone coming up to me and telling me “I need this done/Please…” (or some form of that). Other times they appear as notices at the top or bottom of my computer screen. Or as text/message notifications on my phone or a communication app. Then, there’s the ever-present urge to check my email, and when I do, a message reminds me of something I need to do and forgot earlier, and now “time is running out…better do it now before I forget again!” You get the picture.

Such as while I’ve been writing this article, all of the above as happened. I skirted the computer “flash-up” notices, glanced at the pop-ups on the phone (sound is off), and managed to stay the course here… until a thought popped into my head—“Oh, I’d better check when my doctor’s appointment is tomorrow, so I can answer the coaching client who just texted to ask if I’m available at a certain time.” That “wind-gust” of thought blew me off course into checking my email and seeing that I still had to fill out the new-patient intake form. You know, those never-ending pages of required fields that demand our life story before we can see the medical practitioner. Tyranny of the “urgent” kicked in and I started filling it out…next…next… “Oh yeah, my article! Do I really need to fill out this form immediately when the appointment isn’t until tomorrow?!”

That’s the key question to ask—“Do I really need to (whatever it is) right now?” The sooner we ask that, the better. Develop a habit of it until that question becomes the automatic filter-trigger for every demand that enters our minds from whatever source. Once triggered, assess that demand according to the conditions listed above. Is it within bounds? Is it something someone can do and perhaps do better? Where does it belong on the “urgent/important” matrix? If I say “yes” to this now, what else am I saying “no” to?

It also helps to: Keep our phone upside down and on silent; turn off any sound-making notices; stopping visual notifications so they don’t break our concentration; (if pop-up notices still need to occur, train our mind to glance quickly and ignore them for now until we can check them later). That will help us end our day when we need to, when we don’t keep getting “blown away”, and having to keep coming back.

For our own sake as well as the sake of others, we need to end our day and get some rest! Leaders– this includes us– we lead best when we know how to end our days well.

“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Ps. 4:8

Jesus is here to help us– Mat. 11:28-30– “’Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’”

How are you going to end your day today?

The What When of Time Management

Those who know what to do when, and when to do what, will never have trouble with time management.

Have you ever wondered what to do next, or what to do with those time-gaps between appointments and obligations? Any length of time not pre-dedicated to something obligatory can be considered “free time.” The rarer and shorter those times, the more valuable they are—therefore, something we need to make the most of and not waste.

Conversely, we all have a crowd of “what”s, each one screaming like kids at a fair, “Pick me! Pick me!” Which one should we pick first? Which one deserves our immediate attention? Which can wait until a little later? Which can wait until much later?

In both cases above, priorities drive our decisions. So does external, as well as internal, reality. You may consider one thing more important than another, but your boss tells you the other is more important, so get it done first. Or, depending on your biorhythm and scheduled meetings, you’ll do certain things earlier in the day and other things later.

How, then, do we prioritize what to do when, and when to do what?

First—determine and assess your core values. Values lead to priorities. If someone values wealth above all else, they’ll use their time doing whatever makes them more money. If someone values relationships over getting stuff done, they’ll talk or meet with whoever asks or wants to, before cleaning their house (I speak from experience here!). If someone values recognition and reputation above other things, they’ll make it top priority to do whatever leaders and other “important” people notice vs. whatever goes unseen. And so on.

What matters most to you, and why? Which of these core values align with what counts for eternity and from the Lord’s perspective? Which only have a comparatively temporary impact and are informed by the world?

For example, it’s not wrong to do well in business and make money, but as the saying goes, “You’ll never see a U-Haul pulled behind a hearse”! But we can do what we can to be able provide for ourselves, give to others in need, help society, and further His Kingdom on earth.

Likewise, getting stuff done is great if it’s stuff that really helps people and has a long-lasting, even eternal impact. But there are times we need to ask ourselves if some of that stuff is really worth doing or ours to do? Or consider relationships—do we value them for what we can get out of the people we relate to, or for the sake of popularity and self-esteem? Or do we value them because each person is made in the image of God and we want to care for them the way He does?

Once we have our values straight, our priorities will line up in proper order.

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?” Mk. 8:36-37

“Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you.” Mat. 6:33

Second—Whenever you have to decide exactly what to do when, use the “important/urgent” matrix put forth by Michael Hyatt in his book “Free to Focus”. Having decided what’s most important (priorities) and why, we then divide our “to-d0”s into 4 quadrants: Important and urgent; Important but not urgent; Urgent but not important; Neither important nor urgent. That gets it all out of our heads into a place we can see each clearly. Sometimes urgent vs. important won’t be as obvious as to which to do first. My counsel on this is do what’s most important to you first, unless it’s really urgent—as in, your authority figure or someone you really care about asked you to do it right away!

Third—Consider your own mind and body—Do the high-concentration work when you’re most “up” for it mentally. Do the physical exercise or work when it’s most conducive (for ex., best weather, when you can get to the gym, not too tired, etc.). For some of us, this means creative writing or project work in the morning. For others, it means, wait until we feel more awake! Or even later. We’ll have roller-coaster-like ups and downs throughout the day and can fit things in accordingly.

Fourth—Consider the amount of time in each “free-time” gap. If it’s long enough, do the things that take longer. If it’s not so long, do the “I can knock off this task quickly” stuff. Or, you can even get started on a longer-to-do project in the shorter free time, knowing you can pick up on it later. This helps with the truly important, even urgent things, because it’s easier to continue something than to get started. Don’t let gap times become wasted time. Rather, do whatever productive, beneficial, thing you can with the time you have, knowing that once it’s gone, it won’t come back.

Here’s an example: Last week, I had a full day of coaching sessions on the only sunny, nice, day of the week. I value health, both physical and mental. So no way was I going to let that sunshine go without enjoying and exercising in it! Thankfully, because I build margin into my schedule (also recommended), I took three of the 15-minute breaks to run and walk outside. No 45-minute block existed, but that’s what it added up to. I benefitted by feeling happier, more energetic, and more mentally “with it”, and my clients benefitted by receiving better attention and insight from me.

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Eph. 5:15-17

These are just a few quick tips to help, so next time you need to decide what to do when and when to do what, you’ll be able to do them all at the best time in the best way with the best results.