{"id":1833,"date":"2010-03-05T01:05:50","date_gmt":"2010-03-05T09:05:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=1833"},"modified":"2013-08-21T11:09:26","modified_gmt":"2013-08-21T19:09:26","slug":"maximizing-your-productivity-throughout-the-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/maximizing-your-productivity-throughout-the-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Maximizing Your Productivity Throughout the Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“Into The Bloom” courtesy of PopArtMachine<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve noticed that a lot gets said about productivity \u2013 not just here on Pick the Brain, but around the web. We\u2019re always keen to squeeze a little bit more out of our day, fighting against all the interruptions and distractions of modern life.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to end up struggling much harder than you need to, though, by trying to be productive in the wrong ways, at the wrong times. Working with your body clock and your natural peaks and troughs of energy lets you maximize your productivity all day long … rather than struggling through several miserable hours by sheer willpower, only to end up too tired and tetchy to carry on working. <\/p>\n

Morning Lark or Night Owl?<\/h2>\n

A great place to start is figuring out whether or not you\u2019re a morning person. Given the chance, would you prefer to get up early to finish off some work, or stay up late?<\/strong> I\u2019ve been an early riser since my teens \u2013 I find I have plenty of mental clarity and self-discipline first thing in the morning, whereas my brain seems to turn to mush in the evenings!<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no inherent virtue in being an early morning or a late night person, and while you definitely can try to shift one way or the other, it\u2019s easiest to just work with what you\u2019ve got.<\/p>\n

If you have any control over your hours, can you start earlier (if you\u2019re a lark) or later (if you\u2019re an owl)? Of course, that\u2019s easiest if you work for yourself \u2013 but many employers are becoming more flexible about working hours now. If you feel that a shift genuinely would make you more productive, try asking!<\/p>\n

Peaks and Troughs of Energy<\/h2>\n

Throughout the day, you probably find that there are regularly times when you focus well \u2013 or not! Again, I\u2019m a morning person here: I get most of my creative, energy-draining work done before lunch. Others find that they need much of the morning to get going, and make big strides in the afternoons.<\/p>\n

This might seem obvious, but it will really<\/em><\/strong> help if you can do harder work \u2013 like writing, designing, brainstorming and planning \u2013 during your \u201cpeak\u201d times.<\/strong> Leave more routine tasks \u2013 most emails, phone calls, filing, photocopying, etc \u2013 for times when your energy is at a low.<\/p>\n

In some cases, this might mean having a think about your normal working habits. If you regularly start the day by answering emails, would it be more effective for you to spend those first couple of \u201cpeak\u201d hours working on something more high-level?<\/p>\n

During times when you know<\/em> you\u2019re going to be struggling to focus, be particularly wary of letting distractions creep in. It\u2019s all too easy to end up reading blogs, answering emails or playing around on Twitter or Facebook \u2013 and, often, distraction can become a vicious cycle. If it\u2019s a real problem for you at particular times of day, look into software which will allow you to block websites during those hours.<\/p>\n

Keeping Meetings and Appointments Outside Your Peak Times<\/h2>\n

I\u2019ve got Charlie Gilkey of Productive Flourishing to thank for this tip, in How Much is Your Creative Time Worth?<\/a><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s imagine that you have the option of going to a doctor at 10am \u2013 right during your creative peak \u2013 or 4pm \u2013 when you\u2019re off-peak. Let\u2019s also say it\u2019ll cost $60 to visit the doctor and your creative time is worth $128. If you choose to go at 4pm, then the net value of the visit is $100. If you go in the morning, it\u2019ll be $188. If the receptionist at the doctor said that it\u2019d cost you $88 extra to visit in the morning, I\u2019m sure you\u2019d choose to go in the afternoon. Left to our own devices, though,\u00a0we\u2019ll give up that $88 without thinking about it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perhaps because I\u2019m a \u201cmorning person\u201d, I used to invariably schedule appointments at around 9am or 10am \u2013 generally because I hoped the doctor\/hairdresser\/etc wouldn\u2019t be overrunning already at that hour! However, taking a big chunk out of my morning means I lose my best productive time \u2013 whereas having the same appointment in the afternoon would only take time which I\u2019d be spending on routine admin or chores.<\/p>\n

Do you have a bad habit of scheduling appointments or meetings during times when you\u2019d be better off at your desk?<\/strong> Can you adjust any of these?<\/p>\n

Staying Productive Throughout the Day<\/h2>\n

Even when you\u2019re working with<\/em> your natural peaks and troughs, it\u2019s still a good idea to do what you can to keep your energy levels up.<\/strong> For most of us, that means following some simple good health practices like:<\/p>\n