Before You Leave the Office, Don't Forget to...

BAW's Home Office (Photo credit: bayareabaw)

Do you have a routine that you follow when you’re getting ready to leave at the end of the day?  If you don’t you should.  Having a routine will ensure that you are ready to start the next day off on the right foot.  You will be more prepared and you’ll feel more efficient as well.

Spend the last fifteen minutes of your day getting ready to leave.  Before you leave the office, don’t forget to:

• Prepare your ToDo list: Spend about 5 minutes at the end of your day jotting down the things you know you need to do tomorrow.  It could be finishing off a project or making phone calls.  Taking 5 minutes to jot down that list will leave your more prepared in the morning.
• Check your email one last time:  If there is something urgent you can respond to it but if it is something that can be dealt with in the morning you will at least be aware of it.
• File:  Put away any stray papers that are left on your desk.  Have a place to put them if you know you are going to continue working on them in the morning; if you know you won’t be working on it the next day file them in the appropriate spot.
• Clean: Leave your office neat and tidy. You’ll feel more organized and it will leave a good impression on your boss as well!
• Log out:  Never leave your computer openly accessible when you leave for the day.  There are other people that have access to the office including cleaners and other staff and as an administrative assistant you often are privy to confidential information so make sure it doesn’t get into the wrong hands because you forgot to log off of your computer!

At the end of the day, you are often in a rush to get out because you have to be somewhere or you are just looking forward to getting home and relaxing.  It can be so easy to leave things unattended to when your mind is on other matters.  If you have a routine though, you will be more likely to take care of important matters.