Plan for Tomorrow

USE THE LAST 15 MINUTES OF YOUR WORKDAY TO ...

... plan for tomorrow.

At the end of your nine-to-five day, you wind up frantically composing the e-mail you meant to send in the morning while simultaneously wondering what to make for dinner.

Experts recommend this remedy: Spend the last 15 minutes preparing for tomorrow.

It sound simplistic, but writing down your plan for the next day gets things off your mind. You’ll walk out the door (or away from the corner of the kitchen that passes for a home office) feeling collected, and walk back in the next day with purpose.

Here’s how to make a graceful exit.

 - Composing a to-do list is a no-brainer, but instead of writing it on random Post-its, keep it in a notebook so you can refer to the list later.

 - List the e-mails you need to send the next day. Too often you get caught just responding to e-mail, so making a list will put you in a proactive mode.

 - File away as much as possible. Create a system that functions like a calendar, with 31 folders for each day of the month, and sort papers by the date you need them again.