We can all point to specific times of the day when we’ve had great energy, when we’ve felt sharper, or have been most productive. How many times have you heard comments like, “I’m a morning person – I can get more done in the first two hours of the day than all the remaining hours combined.” Or, “I’m a night owl – I do my best work after dark.”
Wouldn’t it be great if we could keep that high energy level consistent, all day? Great – yes, realistic – unfortunately not.
The reality is that our bodies work in cycles. Studies have verified that our bodies work in biochemical, physiological and behavioral cycles. This observation has even been given a name – Circadian Rhythm. “Circadia” literally translated from Latin means “around the day.”
So, if our bodies do work in cycles, how can we make the best of those cycles, rather than ignore or fight them? The challenge is to harness those windows of time to do and be our best.
This is where self knowledge becomes our greatest ally. The key to managing ourselves, our work and our lives is to truly know ourselves, our styles, what works for us, our strengths, and yes, our work cycles.
That’s why we should group our email sorting and handling, rather than handle it all throughout the day.
I’ve seen too many great workers use their most creative and energetic times in the day to sort benign email. What a waste!
Choose the times when you most productively handle and sort your inbox, and make appointments with yourself to do it at those times.
And don’t forget that we’ve been harping on you to not only group your email handling, but to choose a max of 5 times daily to go into that inbox! If you can marry that practice with the “right” times of day, you’ve got it made!
