How to discover your time of the day!

by Nadia Syafiq

Doesn’t matter if you’re a night owl or early bird… so long as you get the worm (or the mouse).

Surely, you’ve heard the saying “the early bird gets the worm”. Well, it’s the 21st century so scratch that. It’s time to omit the traditional beliefs because let’s face it – not everyone is an early bird!

This is because we all have a preferred time to work or a time where we function mentally and physically better than other times of the day. Figuring out your best hours to work is important as it will improve the flow of your productivity and maximise the quality of your work. In order to attain peak productivity, you’ve got to have a plan.

First, you have to find your own rhythm. Giving several approaches a try and seeing which ones work best for you is usually the optimal way to discover when you work best. Listen to your mind and body, and figure out what’s best for you.

Here are a few ideas on how to figure out your most productive time of the day!

via GIPHY

#1 Take a step back and think Think, think hard. Before going to bed, think back of the time where you were your most active self during the long day you just had. Or think about your previous achievements. At what time of day did you do your best work? Maybe you stayed up and finished a pitch deck at 11pm and won the start-up challenge the next day – does this mean you’re a night owl and you work best after the sun goes down? Maybe.

#2 Schedule your high- and low-energy hours Gather your data and schedule your day-to-day activities and chores accordingly. High-energy hours are when you do high-value work that’s heavy on the mind stuff while low-energy hours are used for less cognitively intense, or light activities. For example, maybe your body is most active at 7am in the morning – it would be wise for you to schedule your daily run at 7am.

#3 Make a timetable As childish as this might sound, having a timetable will ease your life a little. Use the time-blocking method. Plan out your day in advance and dedicate specific hours to accomplish specific tasks. Doing this requires determining in advance what you will accomplish and exactly when you will accomplish it. Once you have those in mind, enter these into your schedule and then get to work on those tasks at the appropriate time during the day.

#4 Track your progress Ask yourself, when during the day do I have the greatest amount of energy and concentration? When do I have the fewest interruptions and distractions? Run regular check-ups on yourself throughout the day. Check how you were feeling at that moment. Were you focused and excited? Tired and drained? Distracted? Regardless of emotion, track it down so you can look back and identify any common patterns from day to day. This may help reveal a lot about your best times to really zone in and get work done.

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