How to Spend the Last Hour of Your Workday
Try these 60-minute “soft projects” to wrap up every day of the week and make progress on your to-do list.
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If you have a smaller-than-usual workload or are lacking motivation, the feeling of being trapped at work - with time passing agonizingly slowly - can be especially strong.
How can you beat this?
The answer is soft projects.
Soft projects don’t demand much attention, investment, or effort, but they’ll still get you through that final hour of the workday - and help you make some progress on your to-do list.
Bonus: They’ll also make you look busy (read: dedicated) to your boss.
Monday: Organize Emails Unsubscribe from any newsletters you never read. Create folders (or labels) for different types of emails, such as ones from different departments, or based on who they’re from, or what projects they’re related to. Delete or archive old messages that are just cluttering your inbox at this point. Mark the emails you still need to take action on.
Tuesday: Think Through Your Next Big Project Start thinking about how you’ll go about it and getting organized. A short burst of proactive research could equip you with better information - and spare you that time when you’re more motivated and ready to work on the project itself.
Wednesday: Work on Your Thought Leadership Work on becoming more of a thought leader in your industry by catching up on the latest content in your niche. Get up to speed on any new developments and engage with others by sharing articles on LinkedIn and starting discussions.
Thursday: Declutter Your Desk Cleaning up your desk is a great task for a day when you’re counting the minutes until Friday: discard unnecessary papers, file away anything urgent, wash out your coffee mug, and give your desk and keyboard a thorough clean.
Friday: Make a Schedule for Next Week Make a task list for everything you’d like to accomplish next week. Break any larger projects into smaller, more manageable tasks. Rank everything on your list and assign priorities. Create a realistic timetable for getting everything done.
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