Lock your screen

Windows key plus L. Every time you stand up. No exceptions.

Two reasons, one serious and one funny.

The serious one: you work with confidential client data, often in client offices, often in open spaces. An unlocked laptop is a compliance incident waiting for someone to walk past it. In some client environments it is a reportable one.

The funny one: when I started as an associate, we played a game. If somebody left their screen unlocked, we sent an email from their account to the whole office. We kept drafts ready in Outlook so the whole operation took a few seconds. Great fun for everybody except the person who forgot.

Both reasons point the same way. Windows key plus L, every time you leave the machine, including for thirty seconds.

The related habit: clean your files before they leave the team. Run Inspect Document in Office to strip metadata and hidden content, check confidentiality labels and footers against the client’s policy, and remove internal comments. I have seen an Excel go out with a comment reading “these numbers seem off but the partner wants them in.” Do not be that person.

Windows + L. It takes half a second and it has no downside.