Use These Techniques to Improve Your Focus on Your Business
Your mood and energy levels have natural daily rhythms. Because of that, you can structure your day and your tasks according to when each will be best suited for the highest outcomes.
In Daniel Pink's book When: The Scientific Secrets Of Perfect Timing, he dissects the science behind the best time to do just about anything. He and I spoke to break down the best times to connect with others, network, schedule meetings, edit out friendships, quit a job, and take in new information.
Here are some highlights from our conversation to help you create your most effective schedule:
Our cognitive abilities don't stay the same throughout the day and it's best to shape your schedule to the task.
There tend to be three stages to your day: peak, trough, and recovery (and about 80 percent of us move through them in that order).
During peaks: We're in better spirits and more vigilant. This is a great time for work that requires less distraction.
During troughs: We're at our worst, both in terms of mood and our cognitive powers. So that time of day is better spent handling administrative tasks.
During recovery: We're in a better mood, but we're less vigilant. That combination -- elevated mood but greater mental looseness -- makes it the best time for insight tasks such as idea iteration and brainstorming.
Eighty percent of people are so-called larks (peak early, through midday, and recover last) and 20 percent are owls (trough early, peak midday or later).
This doesn't apply to you just if you're a boss. Allow your team to choose to do the right things at the right times for them and be thoughtful about when you schedule meetings based on what cognitive load is needed and who is attending.
Now how do you apply these findings to your schedule?
First, discern your personal energy rhythms.
Then, do an assessment of the tasks you do throughout each day.
Which takes the most cognitive load down to the least?
Of which do you have say/control over when you do them?
For those that you do, how can you pair them with the time of day that you're in a peak (need the most cognitive ability) versus in a trough or recovery (need less cognitive ability)?
I've found that designing my days in this way helps me to be much more effective and efficient as well as to enjoy the tasks more.