Nudged: Finish the day & be done with it

I am my own boss, so I should be able to set my own schedule. I should be able to manage true work/life balance. Reality is a little trickier, however, as I sometimes say my third full-time job starts when my “work day” ends.

But I think I can be better about letting client work drift into My Time. And that’s what this week is about: to be intentional about working toward the 6:00 pm cut-off, to get up from my desk, and to close the door on the way out (my office is in our home) so I’m not tempted to drift back in to take care of just “one more thing….”

Let’s see how this goes.

What Happened: Monday night, I thought I had it down. But the pull to do a little more research for an article, to look up “just one more resource,” was strong. Fortunately, I was stronger, and I shut things down shortly after closing time*.

Tuesday I returned to my office after dinner and worked until midnight. Damn.

Wednesday I worked my tail off, keeping in mind that 6:00 shut-off time was coming. It was an intense day, and it was oh-so-satisfying to make a full stop.

Thursday I delivered the article to my editor and DONE! I checked out early and settled down for a long winter’s nap.

Today, because all of my client work is done, I’m closing early and starting the holiday weekend.

The Ah-Hahs: It’s so easy to just let things slide, to stay in bad habits and patterns. One of the elements I love about these Nudges is that I am more aware of how I truly live, and then I am more intentional about the changes I want to make to live my best life.

*I want to give a shout-out to my pal Lisa, who kept me honest on Monday night. She “made” me send her a photo of my closed office door at 6:03 pm, to prove I’d done what I said. 🙂 Having friends do Nudges with us helps with accountability and makes it all more fun! Think about who might enjoy doing these with you and invite them to subscribe to the blog. It’s free.