Behold the Circadian Rhythm
The Circadian Rhythm is a cycle that governs physical, mental and behavioral changes in you. Every day, you have times at which your abilities in each of these areas surges individually—but not all at once.
Your peaks and valleys will be dictated largely by brain wave activity, hormone production and cell regeneration. The amount of sleep you get as well as how you eat and exercise can also impact your alertness but these factors are secondary to those which you cannot control.
In general, your mental alertness is at its best at the beginning of your day and at its worst in the early to mid-afternoon. That said, there is no true one-size-fits-all when it comes to the Circadian Rhythm. The exact times of the day that your levels rise and fall will vary based your personal internal clock.
If you are a Type A, you’re as close to ready-made for 8–5 office life as possible. If you are a Type B, however, you can suffer from social jetlag as your clock would ideally prefer a schedule closer to 10–7 or even later if possible.
Matching Work to Time of Day
Whether or not you can flex your work hours to accommodate your body’s cycle, you can still consciously leverage what you know about yourself to do your best job. Plan to use your peak mental times for the tasks that demand the most analytical or intellectual thought processes.
In contrast, save creative work for times when your brain feels more tired. A more tired brain does not filter input as effectively. That can be highly beneficial when creativity is needed because potential ideas and options are not too quickly dismissed, thereby facilitating the creative process.
Many Ways to Boost Productivity
Clearly there are many ways that you can increase your productivity at work. From capitalizing on your body clock to putting technology to work for you, you can find new ways to be your most effective.
