Learn How Personal Rhythms Can Help You Get More Done
You can get through your day more effectively and productively if you know more about how your body rhythms work. Each of us has a cycle of energy productivity, making some time of the day higher in energy than others. Learning how to use your own personal rhythms in your time management can help you get more done.
To determine what times of the day are more productive for you, keep a journal over the next few days and observe how you feel and think at different times of the day. Can you determine when your energy levels are at their highest. What about thinking time? When are you at your intellectual best? Record all this down and put it to work.
Are you most ‘alert’ first thing in the morning? If so, don’t dedicate this time to responding to emails or booking appointments. This time should be used for high energy activities, where your mind needs to be at it’s sharpest. If you find your energy levels and mind are working at full levels after lunch, then use this time for your challenging tasks. Reserve your energies for the tasks that need high performance.
Don’t make yourself tackle complex tasks when your energy levels are low. The result will be less than satisfying. Save these times for the jobs that require little concentration and effort, such as reading the mail and sending memos.
So what happens in emergencies - when urgent things appear on your desk at the time of day when your energy levels are at their lowest? Do you attempt to do the task and risk doing a poor job? Sometimes an ‘urgent’ job can set our adrenaline system going and this will help focus on the urgent activity, but not always. If you are too tired, have no focus or have another impending deadline taking up all your energies, you need to stop and figure out a plan of action. Is it possible to put off this new project until tomorrow, when you will be feeling re-charged? Is it possible to say no? If neither of these are a possibility then do the task, with these conditions: Don’t over-extend yourself, otherwise you will become frustrated, making the task even more difficult to attend to.
Take frequent breaks. Walk, stretch, have a drink of water or a high-energy snack otherwise you will reach saturation point way before you have completed the job. We lose concentration if we don’t take regular breaks.
If you are getting impatient and growling at everyone, you’ve used up all your energy. Listen to your body. If you feel lousy then you are working too hard and not acknowledging that your energy levels have dropped. Stop. Come back to the project when your feel recharged. More than likely you’ll do a much better job!
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