Family First: 5 Tips for Leaving Work on Time without Sacrificing Performance

It’s brutal because it’s true. And yet, society still stigmatises people who leave work on time. Screw society. Your family won’t thank you for obeying norms instead of being effective and organised. It’s possible to leave work on time and still outperform your colleagues. It’s all about being ruthless with your time. Here are 5 tips for doing exactly that. <h1>1. Don’t Check Email in the Last Hour of Work</h1> You won’t leave on time if you check your email at 5.25pm. Email is a never-ending firehose of other people’s problems. A quick “last check” of your email will become a whack-a-mole game that never ends. Suddenly, it’s 6.30pm and you have no idea where the last hour went. Avoid this by adopting <a href="https://duncans.blog/email-batching/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">email batching</a>, and scheduling your second (and final) email check at 4pm. It will take less than 30 minutes, giving you an hour to address any raging fires that emerge. Book a recurring appointment at 4pm to ensure you always have time for this. Remember: email can wait, but your family can’t. <h1>2. Tackle Your Most Important Task in the Morning</h1> A successful day can be two hours spent focused on an important task. Imagine getting that done by lunchtime. There would be no need to stay late into the evening if you’ve already succeeded before noon. To make this possible, architect your day to front-load the important tasks. Create a recurring appointment in your calendar to block out 9.30–11.30am. Use this slot to complete your <a href="https://twitter.com/MrDuncanJones/status/1661096954518970383?s=20" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">highest leverage task</a>, while minimising distractions. Spend the thirty minutes before this block reviewing your task list, so you know what to focus on. <a href="https://duncansblog.medium.com/family-first-5-tips-for-leaving-work-on-time-without-sacrificing-performance-f2e93f76a7fe">Visit Now</a>