How Exceptionally Productive People End The Workday

Confront the things you’ve been putting off. If you keep putting things off, you'll feel guilty and that makes you want to avoid them even more. You will get stuck in the “doom loop” of anxiety and avoidance.
Break this loop by identifying the tasks that you’ve been avoiding, break them down into smaller tasks and schedule the next step for the following day.

Doing so at the end of your workday boosts your productivity:

• It helps you stop thinking about work: writing out a plan to finish uncompleted tasks provides the same mental relief as actually completing the task.
• It increases your willpower: starting the day with a clear, prioritized to-do list also cuts down on the number of decisions you’ll have to make early in the day.

Use your end-of-the-work-day routine to make it as easy as possible to get started on tomorrow’s Most Important Task (MIT) in the morning.
Or leave a quick-win to do first thing tomorrow to help build momentum.

... and stick to it.
Knowing you have to complete your work by a certain hour will help you finish more work in less time.
Ending work at a set time also gives you a chance to relax and recharge, an essential part of long-term productivity.

Our brains are hard-wired to keep us thinking about our unfinished tasks until we’ve completed them.
This psychological phenomenon is called the Zeigarnik Effect.

It states that work expands to fit the amount of time allotted to it.
For example, if you have 2 days to finish a task, it will take 2 days to finish. If you only give yourself 2 hours to finish the same task, it will take 2 hours.

• If you didn’t do everything you planned on doing, don’t beat yourself up about it. Forgive yourself.
• Show gratitude. Reach out to a co-worker at the end of the day to say thank you.
• Do someone a favor. Doing something for someone else is scientifically proven to make you happier.