How many times have you made it to Friday afternoon after a busy week and exhaled deeply, anticipating the weekend ahead that’s so close, only to find that those final hours of work leave you feeling more frazzled than ever? Back when I worked a corporate job, Fridays invariably ended up being the busiest days; I’d text my husband “heading home soon” only to look up from my computer screen and find that an hour had flown by.
Now that I work for myself and my schedule is my own, it’s even easier to blur the line between the workweek and the weekend. What I need is a Friday reset practice—a series of tasks to help me mentally (and physically!) make a clean break. You, too?
“I love a Friday reset ritual because if you don’t close out the week on purpose, all your Saturday morning brain space gets taken up by leftover work stuff, and then Sunday night rolls around and you’re blindsided by everything you forgot to deal with,” says Shira Gill, an organizing expert and author of Minimalista. “A quick Friday reset means you actually get to be present for your weekend instead of half-checked-out and distracted.”
If that sounds good to you, keep reading for the Friday reset tasks that Gill and other organizing and productivity experts recommend so you can say, “Sunday scaries? Don’t know them!”
Resetting at Work
Make a Monday List
“Before I log off for the week, I jot down a few things I absolutely need to tackle Monday morning—three tops,” says Gill. “Future me is always so grateful. There’s nothing worse than opening your laptop Monday with zero memory of where you left off; this way, I walk in with a plan instead of scrambling.”
Kimberly Savel-Turek, a certified home organizer and founder of Room to Breathe Professional Organizing, agrees: “Write down what needs to happen Monday, what can wait, and what doesn’t actually need to happen at all,” she advises. “You’re not trying to finish everything—you’re giving your brain permission to stop holding onto it.” And speaking of Mondays…
Give Monday-You a Head Start
“Do one small thing on Friday that your future self will appreciate,” says Savel-Turek. “Pack your work bag, check the calendar, pull out what you’ll need Monday morning, or replenish something you know you’ll be looking for. These tiny acts of preparation eliminate unnecessary decisions when the week starts again.”
Tidy Your Desk
Taking a few moments to clean up your workspace, whether it’s a cubicle in a corporate office or a table where you work from home, can help you physically wipe the slate clean. “Spend five to 10 minutes at the end of the week clearing off your desk,” says Sarah Horgan, an intentional living coach and the founder of Simple + Intentional. “Clear away the things that are garbage, organize papers into piles.”
One cleaning-related Friday reset task that I’ve adopted: wiping down my laptop with an electronics wipe. Beyond being necessary from a dirt-and-germs standpoint, it serves as a cue that I’m officially shifting out of work mode.
Reflect“
Develop a weekly reflection practice,” advises Kyle Elliott, EdD, a tech career coach and founder of CaffeinatedKyle.com. “Spend the last 10 minutes of every Friday writing down what you accomplished that week. Add it to one running document you keep going year-round. This is the hands-down highest-return Friday habit I recommend to clients.”
Beyond what makes the list, Elliott says to notice what doesn’t make the list, too. “If you reach Friday and nothing you documented connects to the work you planned for the week, that’s very useful.” Spending this time reflecting before you head into the weekend “can help you close out the week and stop thinking about unfinished tasks while away from the office or your laptop,” he adds.
Resetting at Home
Prep for the Weekend and Do a Partner Check-In, If Applicable
On Fridays, Gill and her partner do a quick 10-minute huddle, she shares: “What’s on for the weekend, who’s driving the girls where, any plans worth making a reservation for. We also use this time to peek at the week ahead so nothing sneaks up on us Sunday night. It sounds small, but this one conversation heads off basically every ‘Wait, I thought YOU were doing that’ moment.”
Of course, you don’t need a partner to do this kind of mental check-in—confirming weekend plans with friends, appointments, etc.—to ensure you don’t miss anything important.
Reset Landing Zones
“Every home has places where things naturally accumulate—the kitchen island, entryway, counter, dining table, etc.,” says Savel-Turek. “So spend 10 minutes returning those items to their homes.” That is, if they deserve a home! “Mail, receipts, bags, paperwork, and random items tend to accumulate during a busy week,” she adds. “Friday is a great time to make quick decisions: keep, act, recycle, or relocate. The key is not to create another elaborate organizing project—just prevent temporary clutter from becoming permanent clutter.”
Savel-Turek notes that she often tells clients that they don’t need to reset the entire house. “Focus on the spaces that have the greatest impact on how you feel when you walk through the door,” she recommends.
Do a Quickie Restock
“This is my Friday version of the fridge clean-out—a fast scan of what’s left (looking at you, scallions) so I know what to build the weekend meals around, plus a check on the essentials: vitamins, sunscreen, garbage bags, anything household we’re low on,” Gill says. “Takes five minutes.”
Prep for a Digital Detox
This might be the hardest tip of all for many of us, but Gill challenges herself to a digital detox each Saturday, “and Friday night is when I set it up—closing tabs, clearing notifications, putting my phone and laptop somewhere I won’t reach for it out of habit,” she says. “It’s the step that makes the biggest difference in how present I feel all weekend.”
How to Make Your Friday Reset Stick
If “wrapping up,” whether at work or at home, always seems to take you longer than you think it will, start timing yourself to get a realistic sense of how long your Friday reset needs to be—and then either set a timer on your phone or a calendar reminder, says Horgan. So if your reset takes 15 minutes and you want to wrap up work by 6 p.m., block off time at 5:45 p.m. to start.
Finally, when thinking about the Friday reset tasks that work for you—and putting them into practice—keep this tip in mind: “Choose your ‘minimum viable reset,’” says Savel-Turek. “I don’t recommend giving yourself a 25-item Friday checklist because that can turn the reset itself into another source of stress. Instead, identify the three to five things that make the biggest difference for you and make those your non-negotiables. Anything beyond that is a bonus.”
In other words, don’t spend your entire Friday resetting. “The purpose isn’t to finish the week by doing more work,” Savel-Turek adds. “It’s to create enough order that you can actually disconnect and enjoy your weekend.”
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