I admit it, I have peaks and valleys in my work day of what I can accomplish well. Yes, some times of day I am more creative, and focused, where other times I am well, plainly not. It is not to say I can’t be creative and focused in all parts of my day, it is just it comes more easily sometimes than others.
I take advantage of recognizing this in myself to make my days as productive as possible. I know that the mornings are my most creative time of day, therefore I use this time for my creative tasks such as writing, developing designs and other similar tasks.
Mid-afternoon is a time where I know it takes a lot more effort for me to perform those same tasks, but I am able to do more of my administrative tasks easily such as processing financials, scheduling my calendar, reading through email and such.
By scheduling my days to match my attention level I am a lot more productive in my day. Often my calendar is influenced by others, such as when they are available to collaborate or for meetings. If possible I try to schedule my time with them that falls into my appropriate time zone, but that doesn’t always happen. And if it doesn’t I know I can still bring my best, it will just take a bit more effort.
To schedule your days to optimize your performance, take these simple steps:
- Identify what types of tasks you are best at during the following parts of your day: early morning; late morning; after lunch; mid-afternoon; late afternoon. For example: Early Morning: Most creative; After Lunch: Able to focus on analytical tasks, etc.
- Schedule your tasks, conversations, meetings to match the times where you will perform them most effectively
- Re-evaluate at the end of the week, did you accurately reflect the peak focus times for yourself and assign the activities to match? If not, how could you adjust it for the upcoming week?
Notice how it positively impacts your productivity and then in turn your accomplishments.
What times of day are your peak and valleys? Drop me a comment and share with me and tell me how scheduling your day to map them has worked for you.