It’s inevitable.

Late afternoon rolls around and you have finished your work projects with a few more hours still left to fill in the day before you can clock out, head home, and relax. To kill that dead time, you find yourself putzing around on the computer in a futile attempt to look busy.

Maybe you even linger a little too long around the water cooler or take a few laps around the office to kill off a few more minutes.

We do all of this and yet, calling it a day and going home never seem to be an option, but why not?

What Will They Say?!

We’ve fallen into a dim way of thinking about work that instills an almost paralyzing fear of leaving the office early even if we don’t need to be there anymore. Worries about what our coworkers will think or worse, our boss if we head home when we’re actually finished working fill our heads.

Now, we find ourselves working or giving the illusion of working out of fear of not appearing to hold our weight within the organization instead of working effectively to get the job done. We fear our coworkers will think we’re lazy, inefficient, or not as busy as everyone.

This couldn’t be further from the truth!

Working Smarter

If you often find yourself in the lucky position of completing your assignments early, congratulations on conquering the tough task of working smarter and not harder. Consistently hitting your work objectives and getting your responsibilities under control is a feat that should be applauded as it is not easy to do.

It’s a dream for many, but a reality for only a few. However, if you don’t thank yourself by taking advantage of the extra time you’ve created, you’re essentially punishing yourself for by not cashing in on your time profits. You’ve worked so hard to have this extra time so why not take advantage?

Having The Tough Conversation

Speaking with your boss about leaving the office once your tasks are completed can be a tricky conversation, but is definitely one worth having. Don’t be afraid to speak up and have an open dialogue with your boss. Share your concerns and make a solid case for yourself.

Telling your boss you don’t have enough work and want to go home probably won’t give you the same result as providing your boss with your work successes that highlight your ability to effectively utilize your work hours and then asking to leave early to continue to be a valuable member of the team will probably yield a better result.

Make a solid case, prove your value, and show how you can be even more effective when allowed an advance on personal time. Perhaps you can even think of ways you can improve processes for the entire organization to make the entire team more effective. If you’re lucky, you may even smartly work your way into a raise or promotion by sharing your valuable processes.

Take Back Your Time!

Use your ability to work smarter to your advantage. Don’t clock unnecessary hours in the office for appearances, but rather utilize that extra time for yourself. Perhaps you want to get more gym time in, take up a hobby or even simply go home and have a glass of wine at the end of the day.

The point is to not fall into the dated mindset of needing to stick around the office until the whistle blows, but rather be progressive and find ways to make your extra time more fulfilling and valuable.

Need help with managing time and meeting your goals? This is the resource you need to be the best employee and person you can be. When you are the best version of yourself at home and work, you become a more effective employee, reliable partner, and understanding the individual.

Take back your personal time, indulge, and see what sorts of worlds and avenues open up when you focus less on trying to look busy and more on working smarter to have more “you” time.