About to wrap-up work? Don't Just Rush / Slide Out!

Make Your Presence Felt when you Exit / Enter Your Workplace

I have always wondered if all the fancy-ass professional management courses tell young adults anything about how to end their day - there are things you should be doing when you are on the verge of signing-out. Some ideas, from fatal observations, at the top of my head include:

- Never ask if you can leave: you should have your day sorted. You should know if you have completed your chores for the day and when you have, you ought to know, so don't ask. Be sure about your work and if you are not, you are not worthy of being in the team

- Don't leave as soon as the clock strikes 5: this is basic human psychology. No matter how much your reporting manager adores you, for the work you do, there is a tendency to think that if you are not ready to spend a second more than your mandated presence on the floor, you might not be doing your best. Since you are working hard, why give space for such suspicions to surface?

- Don't leave with a bad feeling: you are most likely to carry the vibes home. There are many situations and solutions for diffusing this, including:

• re-confirming if you had solved a query
• double-ensuring you ticked-off the most critical tasks
• reassuring the grieving party that tomorrow, you will handover a solution
• asking out anyone on the floor who messed-up your day to get some closure

- Make yourself heard: this is the most critical rule to calling it a day on a good note. There many ways in which to do this, i.e. ensure that you punch-out with a mannerism that resembles the things you do when you come-in for the day. Choices include:

• elbowing your immediate desk partner
• saying a quick goodbye to your reporting manager
• perhaps a quick hand-to-shoulder press to your immediate teammates 

I came across an interesting bit of information about shift workers and things they should do before they leave for the day, i.e. for the incoming shift - and it is really good that how the smallest things you do, the smallest gestures can make life a lot easier for your fellow workers, though they might not be exceptionally friendly with you: you can read this here. These are easy things you can do when ending your work day unless of course, you are having a really horrible week. If you have the time and patience to invest a few more minutes for the next work day, you can also:

- start creating the to-do list

- set-up reminders on Outlook 

- drop Skype messages to co-workers who forgot to update you

- check your LinkedIn messages if your workplace allows this

- borrow some quick shut-eye time to get closure on a hectic week

- switch-off any social media or work related pings as you want to start your quality time at home

There will always be more tips about how to end your work day but some of these are purely habitual and might not come to you easily. For instance, you might not be in the habit of cleaning-up or tidying your desk. However, this can be a habit you might want to adopt since it helps you de-clutter and creates a better working environment. This editorial piece clearly says that one of the winning habits when winding-up your shift at work is not to leave your desk messy. Also, the minutes leading up to your exit should not be about idle gossiping. This should not be about bitching about things at work or about people you don't like. You want to exit the workplace with a lighter, more composed mood and not with the overhang of negativity...