Take Five Minutes At The End Of Your Day For A Gadget-Free Review

For many of us, the workday doesn’t feel like it ever ends because of our connected devices. At the end of the day, give yourself at least five gadget-free and distraction-free minutes to mentally review your day.

Photo by Dave Hosford

Jessica Stillman at Inc. went over CEO Peter Bregman’s book 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done to take a look at productive uses of short amounts of time. Reviewing your day for just five minutes without gadgets distracting you can help you decompress and solidify what you’ve accomplished that day and what you can accomplish tomorrow. To help review, Stillman suggests asking yourself a few simple questions:

1. How did the day go? What success did I experience? What challenges did I endure?
2. What did I learn today? About myself? About others? What do I plan to do — differently or the same — tomorrow?
3. Whom did I interact with? Anyone I need to update? Thank? Ask a question of? Share feedback with?

Giving yourself a few minutes to asses your day can help you let it go and save the mental energy for focus on tomorrow’s tasks. But it won’t happen if you’re constantly distracted by beeps, buzzes and pings. Step away from the tech and regroup.

Try This 18-Minute Ritual for Incredible Focus [Inc.]