The ultimate goal for successful business persons is to work smarter, not harder. In order to figure out how to work smarter, it is important to figure out what that means to you. For some, this means to be the most efficient they can be. Meaning the most amount of work accomplished in the least amount of hours. What this means is that you’ll need to figure out when you are the most productive during your day. Maybe it is in the morning, maybe it is after you have lunch, or maybe it is after you catch an afternoon yoga or spin class. Your homework is to figure this out and here are ways to figure out when you excel the best.
Productivity is all about your energy – plain and simple.
When is your best energy flow?
Some people can spend hours on end plugging away at tasks, while others need to take a break every 45 minutes or so with a walk, or some water or possibly catching up on social media for a few minutes. According to Next Level Performance, it is important to figure out ‘Personal Pace’ – this is the key to being as effective as possible with as little effort as possible. Time and energy are locked in a symbiotic relationship. That’s why you manage your energy during the right time of day.
Energy Perks, what are they?
Old school ways have taught us to make a list, by prioritizing the most pressing items be listed at the top then work your way down your list–crossing the top one off before the next item under it. Simply put the top priority items happen first, so most likely, you are tackling these tasks in the morning. If you have figured out you aren’t a morning person, then don’t do those tasks in the morning. Do them at a time during the day when you are performing your best. Do tasks that don’t require much energy out of you during the time of day you aren’t very efficient. The outcome will be better and overall, the task will take less time to accomplish.
Taking this to another level, you can also analyze the tasks by how long you think each task will take. Do you find that after lunch and some mid-day yoga you can crank out so many more tasks than in the morning? If so, then save the most draining task for that time period. And more importantly, it isn’t only about how long the tasks take, but how much mental energy it sucks out of you.
When are you mentally alert?
The key is to figure out when you are mentally on top of your game and use that time and only that time to do the most important tasks of your day! Of course, eating healthy and getting enough sleep is extremely helpful too! You could notice that your energy slumps in the late morning or the middle of the afternoon. Make sure you realize that this energy slump could just mean that you are thirsty or hungry and not that it isn’t the time you don’t perform well. Keep your blood sugar steady and your thirst quenched to keep these distracting energy slumps at bay.
