Shutdown Procedure
I recently finished the book ‘Deep Work’ by Cal Newport. The book is about how to increase the quality of your work through deeper focus, and one particular concept resonated with me above all the rest. I realized I had already been doing this technique in my own life and Newport was able to articulate what makes this technique so successful for productivity and focus.
Before I introduce the technique, I want to touch on the overall concept of productivity. Although many things affect the quality and quantity of what we produce, one important piece is - maybe unexpectedly - balance. The balance of productive, focused work with time to be more relaxed and distracted. It’s impossible for humans to work 24/7 on difficult work and problems, we need to balance it with idleness and time completely away from our work so we can recharge, expand our perspectives and tackle our work with refreshed eyes and minds.
However, in today’s world, getting that restorative time is incredibly difficult. We have constant access to our emails and cursory work information, which means we could theoretically spend all hours of our days thinking about work, at least superficially. If work is constantly percolating in the back of our minds, then that never leaves us any time to truly step away, decompress, give our full attention to other pursuits. This then means we return to our work hours already burnt out and spent, and we are more likely to be distracted during work which leads to shallower, lower quality work, and will increase the time we feel like we’re spending working.
Enter the shutdown procedure. I have been doing my own version of this for years, I just never thought to name it. Basically, Newport describes a shutdown procedure as a series of tasks you do at the end of a workday to release your mind from thinking about work until you need or want to work again.
By implementing a shutdown procedure for yourself you allow your mind to let go of any work or project stressors, and give yourself space to enjoy your other hobbies and pursuits to their fullest. When you do eventually return to work, you will be able to do so refreshed, because you were able to reap the benefits of truly stepping away.
Everyone might have a different system that works for them but my shutdown procedure works like so --
I think about when I want to stop working and when the clock is about a half-hour before that time, I begin my procedure. So if I would like to be done working by 5:30, I start shutting down at 5.
The first thing I do is close any loops possible. I don’t send any emails that will require actions, or start anything new. This time is dedicated exclusively to closure. So if I have any pending urgent decisions or emails, I finish those, and then I finish any small tasks (1~2 min) that came up during the day that I can easily complete.
Next, I update my 30-day rolling list. This list contains all items that need to be completed at some point in the next thirty days. I already have a lot of items in it, so now I just add any new items that came up that need to be addressed at some point, and remove any that became irrelevant or were completed. This lives in my OneNote at work.
From the 30 day list, I then update my weekly plan. This plan is also rolling and allows me to visualize my tasks for the upcoming week. I add high-priority items and adjust what exactly my day-to-day might look like for the next week. This lives in my OneNote and my written planner.
Lastly, I make my list for the following day only. I pull only the tasks I want to prioritize for the next day and write them down in my planner. These are the biggest tasks or meetings that I absolutely want to complete the following day. Writing them down brings me a sense of comfort and that’s why this list lives in my planner.
This may sound like a lot to add to the end of the day, but I’ve been doing this for years and can usually complete this process in less than the thirty minutes I allow. The list steps take me less than 10. Doing this process has become a non-negotiable for me. If my lists and planner aren’t squared away before I shut my computer, I feel vaguely panicked the rest of the day - like I’m constantly forgetting something.
By completing my shutdown procedure, it’s like I give myself permission to not think about work anymore. I’ve already taken everything into account - taken stock of everything in my inbox, current projects, and tackled everything urgent or easy. Everything else has been listed and prioritized for the next day, week, and month, and I can allow myself to just let it go until my next workday. I know everything is written down, prioritized, and easily accessible, so I also know that nothing will get missed or forgotten and my work is already set up for me the next day.
First, this keeps my stress levels way down. I’m not constantly stressed about all the remaining work I have. Secondly, more importantly, it allows me to be present in all my other pursuits. I am not checking my phone at dinner with friends, and I’m not answering emails during breaks in my workout. I turn off my email and slack notifications. I get to have that full separation. Then when I do sit down to work the next day, I don’t already feel burnt out because I’ve just been simmering on the same problems in the interim.
Even if you feel like you’re chained to your laptop or your email, I encourage you to try this. Maybe implement a shutdown procedure for yourself and see if you can step away for just a couple of hours. If you’re able to do that, you might see for yourself that nothing truly urgent arose and everything can actually wait until your next work period. Then you can keep extending the time until you can go a whole evening, weekend, or vacation without so much as a cursory thought to your email. It will do wonders for your life.
Sunset in Iowa - it was so blissfully quiet out here.