The little mistake that kills your productivity

Is time slipping away? / Photo courtesy of flickr user Dave Stokes

A few years ago, when I started logging my time regularly, I noticed a pattern. I'd sit down at my desk with my coffee a little past 8 a.m. I'd be raring to go. I could crank out an article without getting distracted. My inbox did not exist. I could work for a solid 90 minutes or even two hours on one project.

By 10:30? Eh. My concentration was shot. Sometimes I could get it back, but I often wouldn't get another 90-minute focused stretch the rest of the day.

I work by myself, so it's not like I was getting distracted by meetings or coworkers. I was simply most productive during one particular time of day, and after 10:30 a.m. it was over.

Knowing that about myself, you'd think that I would guard the hours of 8-10:30 a.m. like a hawk. But over the past few months, I've let a few things creep onto my calendar during that time. Indeed, this past week, I realized that on three out of five weekdays, I could no longer count on having that stretch free for focused work.

Is it any wonder I've been feeling a bit behind?

The secret to getting things done is knowing when you're most productive, and scheduling your most important tasks for that time. Likewise, the little mistake that kills your productivity is ceding your best hours to meetings, phone calls, or even personal things like dental appointments. In a distracted world, it's hard enough to focus. So why make it harder for yourself? I'm working on clearing my morning calendar. What hours do you need to clear?

[Dasha-Golubeva]

An interesting thing we discovered in our recent survey: over 60% of people say their productivity peak is between 8 a.m. and noon. This was the most popular answer even among freelancers! It's also notable that among "early birds" there are fewer people who feel overloaded than among "night owls" (10% vs 27%). For those who are curious to see more details on the study, here's a link to its overview with an infographic: http://www.wrike.com/blog/Snapshot-Work-Life-Balance-Realities-Wrike-s-New-Fascinating-Infographic

[YknJack]

Sounds like you are burning yourself out by working as a sprinter and not a long distance runner. Try pacing your work routine throughout the day and you may find you are more productive over the long haul and not just for an hour and a half. When you were hired was it for an hour and a half or an eight hour day?

[munroconsulting]

Many of us even those who work alone are still in the 9 to 5 mindset and this is still what employers expect. The fact is, like this article proves, is that we all have times when we are more productive and ways of working that are at odds with 9 to 5.

[dennis64--2008]

Laura is spot-on. I'm a morning person. Recognizing that, I handle cognitive tasks early in the morning at home with coffee, usually for a couple of hours, then head to my office where I try to continue focusing on the cognitive stuff. As a small business owner, I also prioritize with one over-riding objective: What's the quickest path to the next invoice? (Keeping promised deadlines in mind). Usually - they're pretty much aligned.

[Veronique_Ozkaya]

This is so true. I have a marketing manager in my team who comes to the office at approx. 10-11 am. Most employees comment negatively on this. What they do not realize is that this incredibly productive employee (he produces as much content as 3 marketeers) is a true night owl and works best from 10 pm to 1 am. Odd, but this is when he writes the most compelling pieces. I just learnt to schedule my meetings with him after 10 am. He's happy in his job and we could not do without him!

[k0buta]

Absolutely agree. My best time to work is in the afternoon to evening. Sometimes I even go into a conference room when it's late so I don't get distracted by happy-hour folks.

[rhiebert]

I'm not a Shrink Dr. but I know my brain operates with two spheres, "right brain" and "left brain". Each works better at different times of the day. To force a left brain person to function when a right brain function is more productive, is something that not enough people realize.

[Shadeburst]

Totally agree. I'm best with people early in the day and best with technical "do not disturb" stuff in the afternoon. Unfortunately a lot of my potential customers are schools and I can only cold-call after school hours!

[JoAnnRCorley]

In the world of productivity we call that the "ppt" time - peak productivity time, and yes that can make a significant difference in what can get done in the same amount of time. To get more ideas check out my latest book release Organizational Strategies for the Overwhelmed - it's based on a time management seminar I've conducted across the country the past few years..:-) www.joanncorley.com

[TheTimeFinder]

Hi Laura,

Great article and I agree with you.

Knowing the best time to be your most productive self is a key to getting your priorities accomplished. Planning the night before, so when you arrive in the a.m., you can be ready to go will give your day a tremendous boost of energy. Of course, that is if you are a morning person.

For those folks who aren't morning people and are most productive in the afternoon, the greater challenge is being able to stop and switch gears to the priorities or most challenging work. One of the things I suggest to my clients (who are not morning people) is to still plan on working on the most challenging things or most important things earlier in the day, unless they are truly disciplined to stop. Even though it may be difficult, when you plan for it and get your head ready for it, it will be easier to get into.

[lvanderkam]

Thanks! I tend to agree that even if one does one's best work at night, the morning is logistically easier. For some reason, batting everyone off your calendar at 2pm is just harder than 8am.