How to Make the Most of Go Home on Time Day

Published: 17 Jun 2019

Our 2019 Modern Families Index found that 60% of parents have to work extra hours to deal with their workload. Almost half of parents (47%) said that work gets in the way of spending time reading or playing with their children

Have you developed a long-hours habit? Regularly staying late at work or working longer hours than you should can have a detrimental effect on your family life, your relationships and your wellbeing.

It’s time to redress the balance. Friday 21 June is Go Home on Time Day, Working Families’ annual awareness day for work-life balance. Join in by finishing work on time—whether you’re in the office, at home or elsewhere—and use the time to do something as a family, with friends, or for yourself.

If you find it difficult to finish work on time or organise your working hours, we’ve pulled together a list of top tips to help you get on your way:

Put Go Home on Time Day in your diary! People all over the UK will be joining in on 21 June 2019 so make this “the” day you organise your work more carefully and finish work on time. Decide what “on time” will be that day and stick to it – make sure it’s in your work calendar, too.

Request flexible working.  If you are finding work and life incompatible, you have a right to request flexible working. Finding the hours that suit you best will help you spend more time with friends and family and get more done when you are at work. If you are interested in requesting flexible working, take a look at the flexible working advice page on our website.

Make the most of your prime time. We all have a particular time of day when we have lots of energy and enthusiasm and a greater ability to think and concentrate. Work out when you are at your most effective and tackle your most important work then.

Don’t start meetings too late. Block out your diary for the last hour of every day so your colleagues don’t schedule late meetings with you. And don’t ask others to begin projects at the end of the day – respect their right to a life outside work, too.

Prioritise. One of the best things you can do to cut down your working time is to write down all the tasks you perform in a week or month, prioritise them, and weed out any unnecessary work.

Evaluate the impact of the various types of work you do.  Cut back on activities that give relatively little benefit for the time invested.

Plan. With larger projects, be sure to plan them. This will help you to cut down on errors and unforeseen events and will make sure less time is wasted.

Focus on the task in hand. Don’t try to multi-task and be sure to remove any distractions from your working environment. This will help you to complete your work quickly and efficiently to a high standard.

Batch tasks. When you have a group of similar tasks, batch them together. Try setting aside a block of time in the day when you complete all of your errands or reply to all of your emails.

Schedule. When you have a large number of tasks to complete, schedule time to complete each of them throughout the week and stick to it.

Use technology. Did you know you can set up hotkeys on your computer to open the folders, files and programmes you frequently use? You can save a lot of time simply by setting your browser to open your most-used pages when it launches.

Learn to say “no” and ask for help. In those periods when everyone wants a piece of your time, take steps to make sure you don’t get snowed under. It is OK to say “no” to less important tasks if they are keeping you from going home on time. And you can share the load by asking a colleague for help.

Commit to activities outside work involving other people. Even simple things like going for a walk together, playing sport or visiting each other can quickly become a new routine.

Make Go Home on Time Day a team activity so everyone supports one another’s needs to leave on time on 21 June.

These are just a few of the tips and tricks you can use to work more efficiently so you can spend more time doing the things you enjoy.  Do you have tips you want to share? Join the conversation: follow @workingfamuk on Twitter and Instagram and share your experience using the hashtag #gohomeontime