Month: January 2020

In our last blog, we focussed on how to stop our time-saving routine from working against us.  In this blog, we’re going to discover how we can maximize our natural energy cycle and how to work with it, rather than against it.

How are productivity, time management, and energy cycles related?

If you’ve ever started work super-busy and energized only to find that by mid-afternoon you’ve crashed, then you’ll know that not all hours of the day are created equal as far as work is concerned. Our bodies all have what is known as a “productivity curve” – times when our energy, focus and motivation are at a high and other times when they drop.  Take for example, energy.  Our Circadian rhythm runs in the back of our brains, like a 24-hour clock and governs when we are alert or sleepy. Our stress levels are also key here in dictating alertness, focus and productivity. 

The marathon as a series of sprints

Research shows that we work best in bursts of 90 minutes duration, (Ultradian Rhythms) before our brains need a break.  Our bodies will signal this request by becoming hungry, sleepy, fidgeting or losing focus.  When you ignore these signals, your body uses its’ reserves of energy to keep going and releases stress hormones to give you the extra “shot” of energy that you need. Instead of ignoring these signals, try setting a time for 90-minute intervals and see how this affects your focus and productivity in general. I find this strategy works especially well with my AD/HD clients. Sprints are way more fun. They help us focus our attention and maintain our motivation. And they feel unique; all critical components of productivity when you have AD/HD.

Work with your energy – not against it

So, what does all this mean? Well, fundamentally this acts as a great reminder that you can’t do it all and need to be strategic in how you plan your day.

If you approach your working day, knowing that you won’t have a break until much later, then your body will try and conserve energy and distribute it evenly throughout the day.  This prevents you from not only reaching your full productivity, but also taking a restorative break.

Instead, what we all should try and achieve is to ensure as much of our work time corresponds with as much of our individual productivity as possible.

In order to do this, you need to be more self-aware. Try keeping a journal of when you feel motivated, as opposed to the times in your day when that motivation drops.  When are you at your most productive?  Is this first thing in the morning, or maybe you’re a night-owl and find your brain works best in the twilight hours? Once you have this information, plan your day so that the tasks requiring the most focus are scheduled within your most productive times.  Build in regular breaks and, when you experience energy slumps, instead of powering through, try switching to something that requires less concentration.  Switching up high-energy moments, with lower energy ones will allow you to maintain prolonged productivity throughout your day.

Remember, productivity isn’t always about doing more; it’s about using your time in the optimal way.

If you could have the proverbial three wishes, I’m guessing one of those would be to gain more time in some form or another; more family- time, for the kids to not grow up so quickly, for more “me-time”. But, have you considered just how much time is wasted in the everyday things we do?

For most of us, routine is what gets us through the day.  We wake up at the same time, we follow the same routine of grabbing a coffee, maybe heading along the same route to the same gym class. We head to work and do the same tasks, grab lunch from the same place and our evening activity is par for the course.

But, have you considered that there could be time-sucking habits which have crept into your routine that you don’t even notice or question?

Whatever your routine, when you first established it, the driving force would no doubt have been that the string of steps was an effort to time-save.  That, if you got up at 6am, you’d have time for an hour in the gym, before heading out the door to drop the kids at school, arriving at your desk ready for the day to unfold. 

Sound familiar? 

These steps may have been effective when you started out, but when was the last time you reviewed them?  Questioned whether that schedule is still as effective as it once was?  Are you sure that little “time-sucks” haven’t crept in somewhere?  Perhaps, instead of getting the kid’s stuff ready the night before, for them to “grab and go” in the morning, you’re now spending time searching for that elusive sports kit, or packing their lunch when you really should be heading out of the door?  Maybe you agreed somewhere along the line to car share and now have to pick up a colleague on the way to work?  Have you considered the minutes spent waiting at their house?  If this is you, then it’s time to review your routine and reclaim some time! 

Here are three top timewasters and how you can minimize the stress and maximize the time:

Meetings

So, you head into work for the regular Monday morning team get-together.  Except no one’s on top form at 9am on a Monday morning.  Everyone’s aware they have an in-box to tame, tasks to complete and this weekly meeting is just a pain.  My first tip is to always have an agenda. Get everyone on the same page (excuse the pun) in advance by noting what’s up for discussion.  Ensure there’s a moderator on board – someone who will ensure that everyone stays on topic.  If you suffer from someone always wanting to take the discussion off-track, then be firm and bring them back to the matter in hand. Does that person really need to be in the meeting, anyway?  By including only essential people, you’ll side-step all the unnecessary and ensure discussions are dealt with efficiently.  Put a time-limit on the meeting. Maybe adjust the time to when everyone is back into work mode and more willing to engage.

Social media/internet surfing

The biggest procrastination of all!  We’re probably all guilty of thinking we’ll have a quick look at our profile and then realizing that an hour has passed!  To combat this, identify where you spend most of your time and block access during your busy times.  Turn off notifications, so you’re not distracted and hold yourself accountable for the time you spend – make it a conscious decision to spend an hour on a platform, rather than time running away with you.  Maybe set an alarm when your allotted time is up. 

Multitasking

We’ve all been conditioned to believe that busy is good and that multi-tasking is the only way.  However, when you’re trying to accomplish several tasks at once you’re opening yourself up to the possibility of more mistakes happening as you switch your attention between each.  Research has found that switching between tasks can cause us to lose as much as 40% of productive time.  Instead, try switching off your cell phone and going “off-grid”.  When planning your day, leave blank space, or processing time to enable your brains to process information and use your time more productively.

In our next blog, we’ll look at how we can use creative time management to capitalize on our natural energy cycles and how to work with our energy, rather than against it!