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    Categories: Law Life

How to End Your Work Day on a Positive Note

Summary: Four tips to help you end your work day on a positive note.

Let’s face it. We all have rough days–even rough weeks or months. Sometimes work can be overwhelming because of deadlines, projects or busy season. Other times, your life in general can be stressful, and work is just one more place you don’t want to be at the moment. However, if you end your day on a more positive note, it will keep you from letting that negativity seep into your life at home or after work. No one wants to hear you rant for an hour or two about how your boss is on your last nerve or about that client that will not stop changing his mind. Also, leaving in a good mood will make it easier to come back in the next morning, rather than feeling that dread during your commute.

You may be skeptical that simply doing something positive at the end of the day will make all those negative feelings slip away, but use some of these tips for a few days first, because it never hurts to try! You might be surprised by what you find.

  1. Organize your space. While some people find that living in organized chaos works best for their mind, most people get the most peace and clarity in a clean and organized space. Take the time at the end of the day to clean up your office and organize all of your papers. Not only does this make you feel like you have closure on that work day, but it also makes coming in the next morning feeling much less scattered and chaotic.
  1. Have something to look forward to. Try scheduling something for after work that you’re looking forward to. Not only will this give you joy from the actual activity, but the anticipation of the event nearing the end of your workday will put you in a much better mood. Often, the anticipation of something is even more fulfilling than the event itself.
  1. Review your accomplishments. Close out your day by making a list of everything you accomplished. Not only will this highlight the good parts of your day, but it will minimize negative parts by making them less of a focus. Especially when no one else is praising you for your good work, it feels good to acknowledge yourself.
  1. Get ready for tomorrow. While this may seem counterintuitive, already thinking about coming in the next morning, it can be very satisfying to prepare your office for the next day because it gives you closure. Even writing down a “To Do” list for the next day allows your mind to let go of all of those tasks because you know you’ll see the list when you come in the next morning. No need to keep them at the forefront of your mind because you won’t
Kathryn Wheeler: My name is Katie and I moved to Chicago in 2010 for law school and graduated in May 2013. I'm originally from Kansas City, MO and I did my undergrad at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. I started this blog in August of 2011 because I needed a creative outlet and I wanted to write about my life in a way that other women could relate to and realize that they aren’t alone in many aspects of their lives.