Shutdown Ritual

In the book Deep Work, author Cal Newport outlines the concept of a Shutdown Ritual. He advocates for a defined process that helps you transition from your workday to your other responsibilities.

“When you work, you work hard, and when you’re done, you can be done.”
- Cal Newport

Some people find it difficult to shut down, but there is so much benefit to taking a break from the constant hustle.

Through this book, I’ve changed my paradigm a bit. I used to call my end-of-the-workday routine “charting.” Physicians end their day by adding notes to their patients’ charts, so they document all their cases and procedures performed. I took a similar approach to deals, opportunities, etc.

The idea of the Shutdown Ritual is that all tasks that are left undone have a collection point. The author mentions a Google Doc that can be accessed from anywhere. I’ve recently started using Google Tasks, but you can use whatever task manager or client relationship management software you prefer.

As part of your Shutdown Ritual, you may go through your call log or scan through your texts/emails and record an outstanding to do list for the next day. Your Shutdown Ritual should be a quick 3-5 minute routine that enables you to truly be done for the day.

Cal Newport also has a Time-Block Planner that includes a daily Shutdown Ritual section. I quickly go through a mental checklist to determine and document anything that I didn’t do that day that I need to do. Then I can shut the planner and shut down for the day.

A Shutdown Ritual is helpful, so later when you’re at the dinner table or in bed, you won’t be overwhelmed by the thoughts of, “Oh, I should text that person” or “I forgot to follow up with so-and-so.” You have notes and tasks that you can refer back to later.

I hope that you can develop your own Shutdown Ritual and better enjoy your free time.

If you don’t enjoy reading, you can also enjoy this concept as a video.