OPTED Magazine

Some of the most highly productive people that I know practice one simple habit: identifying the high energy times during their day.  How can we be highly productive or tap into creative energy if we haven’t determined the moments in our schedule where we have the most potential for success?

If we look at our to do list everyday at 3:00pm when we’re experiencing the post lunch slump and have negative creative energy, let alone mental focus, to complete a complex project, it may never get done.  But once we’ve determined on an individual level the blocks of time during the day that we are the most productive, it can revolutionize our volume of output.

For instance, I’ll share a recent conversation with a friend on this very topic:

“I have so many things thrown at me throughout the day that I have to balance the regular, recurring tasks with the projects that require a lot of time and creative energy.  I’ve been honest with myself and realize that I am not a morning person, so I tend to schedule meetings and blocks of time to clean out my email inbox before lunchtime.  A major consideration of my job is that I work on the east coast and many of our clients are on the west coast, so I plan ahead for that.  I determined that my most productive, high-energy time is from 3:00 to 5:oo pm each day — partially because it’s the perfect time to do business with west coast clients who are 3 hours behind our time, and partially because people tend to trail out of the office for family commitments leaving me with peace and quiet to get things done.”

I could psychoanalyze and pick apart the great decision-making of this statement all day long, but the main theme fits the concept of this post exactly.  We all have a weakness or strength; for some the morning is that time and for others it’s the afternoon or evening.  Creating a journal or mental list of your high-energy moments and tracking the common trends during your work week can help ensure your time at work is well spent.

If you liked this post, you might like::

1. Balancing relaxation and productivity on a weekend
2. Sources of lost productivity in the workplace
3. Make your meetings more productive
4. How to make progress with your to do list
5. Top 8 printable productivity forms