How to have the most productive day possible...

Follow these simple steps to awesome your day....

All of us know ‘what’ we need to do at work today and most of us even go a bit further and focus on the ‘why’ we need to do it. But how many of us focus on the ‘when?'

Now I’m not talking about planning a diary and making a schedule for your day, we all do that already in some form. But instead focusing on the 3 key periods of our work day that actually lend themselves better to the different tasks you need to get done…. 

‘The Peak’ 

It doesn’t matter whether you start work at 5am or 5pm, when you first wake-up/get to work, this is when you are at your peak and your cognitive brain power is at its highest. Here you are at the most vigilant and so suited to the more analytical tasks, i.e. responding to that difficult email, writing that challenging report or even having that tricky conversation you were thinking of putting off for later.

Instead of coming in this morning and scrolling through emails, reading the Evening Standard Online and deconstructing that Pret croissant over your keyboard, really use this time to its full advantage and get cracking asap!

‘The Slump’ 

A bad time of day for you – this low period around lunchtime is when you are at your absolute worst. Research shows this is when the most traffic accidents, deaths in hospitals and injuries at home occur, and personal research shows this is also when I definitely achieve not a great deal myself for sure.

Basically you don’t want to challenge yourself too much about now, but focus instead on those boring administrative tasks. That’s the not-so-important emails you skipped over this morning and anything that requires not a lot of thought and the more repetitive, box-ticking kinda stuff that still needs to be done.  

It’s important to know as well that this isn’t just down to what you eat for lunch, if that was what you were thinking. Whether you are nursing a shady hangover by inhaling that greasy Patty & Bun delivery, or smugly navigating your way through a Chia Pot after a lunchtime gym sesh, you will still be at your crappest regardless, so act accordingly. 

 ‘The Recovery’

Later in the day/early afternoon – our mood is getting better but we are still not at our sharpest. Our energy is coming back up after that horrific slump we just endured and we are now starting to tolerate our colleagues again. Along with the uplifting prospect that its almost time to go home, our brain power is now focusing more towards the ‘human’ and compassionate part of our day.

This is the time to have those meetings, brainstorming sessions and conference calls that we would have been too sharp for in the morning, and a bit too pissed-off for a couple of hours ago. A bit of light strategising can also be done at this point but don’t hurt yourself too much with something you can tackle tomorrow morning with a far bushier tail.

Follow these steps and see what works for you. Everyone has different sleep cycles and patterns, but I guarantee if you build your day around  these 3 key phases you will be well on your way to becoming the most efficient version of you…. 

Kai Weller