last ten minutes of the day
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How to spend the last 10 minutes of your day

28 Jul 2017

The last 10 minutes of your work day can be the most crucial, so why not plan how you spend them in advance?

There are plenty of ways you can be as productive as possible in your work day. There’s also an argument to put maximised productivity to bed occasionally to enhance your creative thinking.

However, when it comes to the end of the day, your last 10 minutes can be critical for tying up loose ends and setting you up well for tomorrow.

So, how do you spend the final 10 minutes of your work day? Could you be more organised?

We can often feel like we’re suddenly scrambling around trying to get our final few things done in the last few minutes, which can often lead to us leaving later than we mean to.

The key to utilising the last 10 minutes of your day is to manage your expectations. There are only so many things that can be done, and wrapping your brain around a fresh idea or a new email is unlikely to be one of those things.

Instead, try and put a pin in any outstanding tasks from the day. Close them off as best you can and make a to-do list for the next day. Having a to-do list will help you focus as soon as you sit down and avoid early morning distractions.

Another good tip is to utilise your final minutes to tidy things up. Whether that means deleting old files, organising and archiving folders, or simply tidying up your desk, decluttering your workspace will help you focus the next day and clear your head before you leave.

For more tips on how to best use the last 10 minutes of your work day, check out the infographic from Microsoft Training below.

Infographic: Microsoft Training

Jenny Darmody
By Jenny Darmody

Jenny Darmody became the editor of Silicon Republic in 2023, having worked as the deputy editor since February 2020. When she’s not writing about the science and tech industry, she’s writing short stories and attempting novels. She continuously buys more books than she can read in a lifetime and pretty stationery is her kryptonite. She also believes seagulls to be the root of all evil and her baking is the stuff of legends.

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