Startup and Shutdown Routines for Work
I use my startup and shutdown routine at the beginning and end of my workday.
My startup routine helps me prepare for the day, with a focus on avoiding distraction to get deep work done first thing in the morning.
Startup
Do not check messages for first hour.
My shutdown routine helps me tie up any loose ends and prepare for what's ahead. I do my preparation at the end of each day rather than the beginning, so that when the next day comes, I can spend my mornings going straight into deep work when I am the freshest.
Shutdown
Each day starts and ends with a sip of something and a deep breath. Why? This is a pattern interrupt to signal to myself that it's time to shift gears, either into work mode or into family mode.
It is also worth noting that checking email is not part of my startup ritual. In almost every resource I found online, people start their days with email. I think this is the wrong approach. That starts your day off in a reactive state rather than a proactive state. I believe that the priorities I set for myself are what I should focus on, and my email inbox is full of other people's priorities. Of course, other people's priorities are important too, so I will check on that inbox later, but I want to start my day focused on what I have already determined to be most important. If someone urgently needs to contact me, I trust that they'll reach out on Teams. But I don't check messages on either Teams or Outlook for the first hour of my day. I'm going to try putting myself on do not disturb mode so that messages flagged with "urgent" could get through, but otherwise I can be blissfully unaware of what is happening in my channels while I do my most important work.