Ride Your Wave of Productivity
Here’s a little bit of trivia: did you know that you are typically shorter at night than in the morning by about 1/4 - 1/2 of an inch? Just as your body varies during the day, your mind also varies as the day goes by.
Some of us are morning people, while others don’t really get going until later in the day. I would categorize myself as a morning person, because my most creative and productive thinking comes at that time of the day. If I build up enough productive momentum during the morning, I usually can ride that wave towards the end of the day.
The key thing to recognize here is that although different, we all have a natural rhythm with our day. It’s important to recognize it and to take advantage of it. I make concerted efforts to keep my schedule clear during the mornings and instead hold meetings in the afternoons so I can take advantage of my peak time in the morning.
The counter situation is when you try to force this productivity wave during your off-peak time of the day, particularly for tasks that require creativity and thinking. Now, instead of riding a wave, you are trying to swim upstream. The more effort you put in, the more energy you lose trying unsuccessfully to be productive.
Jean at Cheerful Monk had an interesting post a little while back about how if you’re working too hard, you’re doing something wrong. Although Jean put it in context for personal development, this analogy is also applicable with personal productivity. Once we know how to manage ourselves, then managing anything outside of ourselves become easy.
Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power.
- Lao Tzu
Al at 7P
Mitcehll Allen
Ron Hitson
Chris | Martial Development
I find that I am most creative in the morning so I always try to have a pen and paper around in case I get an idea
Mark - agreed about being ready to catch those great ideas. My best ideas come to me when I’m in the shower, so I think I need to find out a way to take waterproof notes
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I like to think ahead about what creative project I’ll tackle in the morning. Many days the excitement of getting started will stir me from bed at 5:00 a.m.
I make the most of my creative moments because I go deep into optimal experience or as Mihaly Csikszentmihaly terms it - “Flow.”
Thanks for an inspiring post, Al.
Hi Robyn - thanks for sharing and thanks for the compliment.
My work style is similar to yours, where best productivity occurs at those moments of “flow”. If I don’t get that flow in the day, it’s typically not a productive day for me.
Kudos for the reference to Csikszentmihaly. Your comment led me to discover his work. Great stuff!
Robyn - just as an update, you totally got me into this flow subject! At first it sounded like zen, and although there are similarities, there are differences because flow is about attaining an optimal state, while zen is merely about a natural state (at least that’s my interpretation).
I’ve seen a lot of use with “zen” and “getting things done”, but when they’re using zen in that context, I believe they really are talking about “flow”. Is there any recommendations you have to get introduced to this subject?
[…] levels with the mind and body fluctuates throughout the day, and we should be mindful of this and plan our schedules accordingly. However, even the best laid plans don’t work as expected, so you’re faced with doing […]