10 ways to make sure you leave work on time

How often do you manage to leave work on time? For many people, the answer is almost never. New tasks seem to come in faster than you can ever complete them, and there's always something urgent to be done for tomorrow.

But working late can be a bad habit. While you might think your boss is impressed by your long hours, it's likely that he or she thinks you're simply inefficient. And the chances are that the more you stay late, the more it'll be expected.

Meanwhile, long hours can have a devastating effect on your health. Just this summer, a major study by scientists at University College London found that those working a 55-hour week face a 33% higher risk of stroke than those working a 35- to 40-hour week. They also have a 13% increased risk of coronary heart disease.

Finally, it's nice if your spouse and children actually recognise you when you get home at the end of the day.

Leaving the office on time, though, can be easier said than done. How can you make sure you do what you need to do - and still make it home for dinner?
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Believe that you will
It's all too easy to go through the day dealing with new things as they come in, with the thought at the back of your mind that there will be plenty of time for the rest later on. Lo and behold, by the time it gets to six o'clock your original workload is still there. Treating your departure time as being set in stone will force you to prioritise, and will also help you complete tasks more quickly.

Tell colleagues you will
Try letting your co-workers know that you plan to leave on the dot, asking them to alert you to anything that needs dealing with in plenty of time. You can always manufacture a reason, such as a family commitment, or sign up for an evening class. But whatever your reason, make it as public as possible.

Turn off tech
About 20 minutes before you plan to leave, turn off your email and your phone. Anything that comes after that can wait till tomorrow. Spend the last ten minutes of the day getting organised for the morning, so that you don't have worries hanging over you and can hit the ground running the next day.

Don't waste time...
It's easy to get into a vicious circle whereby you work late, stagger into the office exhausted the next morning and drift through the day in a daze. Try and start the week as you mean to go on, make sure you get plenty of sleep, and then keep your nose to the grindstone as much as you can. Don't waste time checking your emails every five minutes, or getting bogged down in trivia.

...but take breaks
Research from Baylor University has shown that office workers who take regular breaks have more stamina - and this is particularly true of breaks take early in the day. The key to an effective break is to keep it short, but do something you enjoy; read, take a short walk or phone a friend.

Create a list of tasks
All too often to-do lists can fill up with jobs that can't be completed in one day - meaning that you rarely get to feel you've done all you should. Instead of writing 'work on report', for example, try 'finish first draft of section 1'. Not only will you get more of a sense of achievement, it will be easier to keep track of whether or not you're on top of the project.

And prioritise
One big mistake is to put absolutely everything on your to-do list - often to the extent that it holds a week's work or more. All this achieves is to make you feel a failure. There's also the danger that, in an effort to tick off as many items as possible, you'll concentrate on the easy stuff and ignore more challenging tasks, leaving them still outstanding at the day's end.

Deal with one thing at a time
Research has shown that multi-tasking is a myth: research has shown that trying to do two things at once almost doubles the time taken and increases the risk of mistakes. Every time you switch from one task to another, precious time is wasted getting your mind back on track.

Don't waste time on meetings
If you have any choice in the matter, try and hold meetings in the mornings so that you're aren't left with an unexpected pile of work at the end of the day. And keep them short: many companies are now holding meetings standing up, to make sure they don't drag on any longer than necessary. If you're not in charge, find out whether you really need to be there at all; often, people are roped in for the sake of it.

Learn to say no
Every workplace has its emergency periods, when you really do need to work late. But if week after week you have too much work to complete in your scheduled hours, your employers may just be expecting too much. If you think this is the case, have a word with your boss, asking about priorities, and delegate wherever you can.

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