What Psychology Teaches Us About Structuring the Working Day
Our workdays are often determined not by priorities or desires, but by what shouts in our faces the loudest and closest to us. If you have good intentions for a productive day, hours easily pass in a flood of letters, appointments, and demands that eat away at your time like a tapeworm – imperceptibly but devastatingly.
This post originally appeared on the Help Scout blog .
Of course, there are tons of productivity tips out there, from to-do lists to time management apps and mindfulness exercises. Everything seems to work, at least for a short time, until everyday needs take over.
Here’s an alternative: Instead of thinking of your day as one long to-do list or trying different time management exercises for size, take a closer look at the science of how your brain functions during the day and try to find the right tasks. to the right mindset to help maximize productivity.
First, let’s think about some of the pivotal turning points of the day.
Take care of your first three hours
According to psychologist Ron Friedman, the first three hours of the work day are the most valuable and productive.
Instead of jumping into your inbox, checking your voicemail, or answering other people’s requests, focus in the early hours on the job that matters most to you and your job.
“We usually have a window of about three hours when we are really, really focused. We can make a difference in planning, thinking and speaking well, ”Friedman told the Harvard Business Review . “If we end up spending those first three hours responding to other people’s priorities for us […] it ends up wasting our best hours and we’re not as efficient as we could be.” …
Research has shown that we see cognitive decline from morning to noon. “With fewer cognitive resources available at the end of the day, the person completing the task may perceive it as more burdensome,” the researchers write in the Journal of Vocational Behavior . In other words, don’t put off difficult tasks.
It is also important to be proactive rather than reacting in the morning. “We want to be responsive to our customers, we want to be responsive to our colleagues, but responding first thing in the morning is really costly in terms of cognition,” says Friedman. “It prevents us from using our best watch.”
Think like a chef
Then what’s the best way to start your day? According to Friedman, the culinary world seems to be following this strategy. The French even have a term for this: mise en place , which means “everything in its place.”
“If you look at how chefs work, they don’t rush into the kitchen and immediately start cooking. Instead, they very deliberately take the time to imagine the perfect execution of the dish and then work in the opposite direction, ”says Friedman. “They determine the steps they need to take, they select and assemble the right tools, they prepare the ingredients in the right proportions, and then they place whatever they need in their station. In short, they first develop a strategy and then implement the second. “
Using the first few minutes of your day as time to plan and tidy up, rather than diving into work right away, can help you take a more focused approach throughout the day.
Know When Your Brain and Body Need Rest
According to Tony Schwartz , founder of the Energy Project, it’s not just our brains that get tired during the day. Physiologically, we follow what Schwartz calls “ultradian rhythms,” or cycles that last between 90 and 120 minutes, during which our bodies get tired and need rest. Think of it as attention cycles. Go through your natural cycle without interruption and you will begin to see diminishing returns, Schwartz said.
This means that telltale cues cannot be ignored: Feelings of anxiety, yawning, separation, or bouts of hunger are likely signs that you should get up and walk away from the table for a few minutes. Ignore these signs, as many of us often do, and you will drain your energy for the rest of the day, Schwartz said.
Instead of managing your time, think about managing your energy or attention.
Manage Your Energy Drop at 15:00
You know the feeling all too well – lunch is over, but the workday is still up to the end of the day and you are pretty much exhausted. This drop in energy, which usually occurs around 3:00 pm, coincides with our body’s circadian rhythms. Our body naturally secretes a hormone called melatonin, and around this time our body temperature drops, which makes us sleepy. If REM naps aren’t good for your workday (although it might be a great option), there are other options.
“Take these energy fluctuations into account and plan for less time-consuming work, work that requires less willpower, less concentration [and] focusing on these tasks at 2 or 3 pm,” Friedman said. is talking. This could mean that you are scheduling a meeting that is lower on your priority list for this time, or you are doing work that doesn’t require much precision.
This drop in energy can also be a good time to focus on creative tasks. “In fact, we’re better off being creative when we’re tired, which is kind of interesting and counterintuitive,” says Friedman. “Scheduling a creative challenge for a time of day when you know you’re a little tired can actually be helpful.”
The command word here again is planning . Don’t let fatigue ruin your day. Develop a strategy for how you schedule your time ahead of time, and you will be ready to ride the energy downturn when it hits.
End your workday (and stick to it)
It’s easy to let our work extend indefinitely throughout our lives — checking email at dinner, before bed, even in the middle of the night. “We work and live with these devices that make everything feel urgent, and it causes neurological addiction,” says Friedman.
The time-to-go factor can have a profound effect on your ability to focus and feel refreshed the next day at work, but getting these shiny glowing gadgets out of your hands for hours can be nearly impossible. One suggestion: Friedman minimizes the temptation to check his email in the evening using different devices for work and play. “I don’t have email on my iPad. Thus, the iPad becomes a device that I use for pleasure, and the phone becomes a work tool, ”he says.
Schedule a time to play
Play more video games. That’s right – video games. Planning play throughout the day is an important way to improve your cognitive function, Friedman said. “The longer we play, the more difficult video games get. Each board is more difficult, says Friedman. “There is often a backward trajectory in work. We do not have such a progressive difficulty. “
Exercise is also a great option. “Increased physical activity over time is associated with a decrease in work-related fatigue,” write researchers at the Institute for Behavioral Sciences in the Netherlands. But, of course, the paradox remains: “Tired workers who will benefit the most from physical activity are less physically active.”
Takeaway: Get up and do something active, but make sure you enjoy it. Finding these kinds of stimuli outside of the workplace can be a good reminder to keep challenging yourself at work rather than relaxing in your role.
What Psychology Teaches Us About Structuring The Working Day | Scout help