After pausing for a moment to consider how my life might have turned out this way (innately attracted to books about productivity), I picked up a book by Chris Bailey called the “Productivity Project” which chronicles a full year of Chris’s life in which he totally devotes himself to the pursuit of productivity excellence.
There are a number of fascinating insights to come from Chris’s year-long experiment that I have adapted into my own way of working: -
slowing down to work more deliberately
shrinking or eliminating the unimportant
the rule of three (a bit of a teaser – need to read the book for this one)
striving for imperfection
scheduling less time for important tasks
the 20-second rule to distract yourself from the inevitable distractions
I especially love that each chapter provides an approximate reading time in the beginning so that you know how much time you have to schedule for each. However, the topic that I want to cover here is the concept of productive “prime time”. At first, I thought I loved this idea because it gave me a solid excuse for my strange work habits. Over time, I have come to embrace it and use it to my advantage every day.
“Work on your most meaningful tasks when you have the most energy – not when you have the most time”.
Chris observes that everybody has their own unique productive prime time where they are most effective at completing any given task during the day. You will note that most people see themselves as either “morning people” or “late workers”. Whilst these definitions mostly speak for themselves; each individual has their own version still. Is 4 am an early start or are the late workers still up then? It doesn’t matter. The results from the Productivity Project tell us that no matter what your productive prime time is, you should embrace it. I will use myself as an example.
I like getting up early, whether it is to exercise or work, or both, I find myself churning out the insights or calories and focusing clearly on the tasks at hand. This has been particularly handy while working from my place in Brisbane with the teams in New Zealand, who are 2-3 hours ahead. Nothing unusual yet. I’m also a late worker or an evening person. After dinner, I can easily work for another few hours, sometimes into the wee hours of the morning. This annoys my friends in New Zealand, who (thanks again to the time zone difference) think I stay up all day and night like a robot.
These two zones are my productive prime times – 6 am -12 pm and 8 pm-midnight. From about 12.30 or 1 pm until 4 pm – not so strong!!!. In fact, pretty hopeless. I can still function and can get things done, I find it difficult. My mind wanders easily, and I tend to find excuses not to complete difficult tasks – the opposite of how I feel when I first wake up and later at night.
How do I use this to my advantage?
For one, I give myself every opportunity to complete essential tasks during my productive prime time. This can mean not checking my emails (if they aren’t important right now) or ignoring other work that isn’t as important. I use every moment of my productive prime time to complete difficult tasks that are a priority.
Checking emails when you first log in for the day can be one of the most distracting and time-wasting things that you can do. If you know what your priorities are for the day, use your productive prime time to do them, don’t waste your time getting distracted by emails and other people’s priorities.
Then there’s your productive downtime. Mine is post-lunch. This is the time I use to schedule tasks and things that either: -
I don’t like doing, but have a specific timeframe and conclusion, (meetings, going to the gym, completing a report) or;
I absolutely love doing, like reading a book or going for a bike ride
By planning my day in this way, I make sure that I’m at my peak when I’m doing the work that is most important to me and scheduling tasks that don’t require peak performance or aren’t a priority during my less productive hours.
I can recall a story I once read about the former US President, John F Kennedy, who famously went for a 40-minute sleep at 12.30 pm every day! I definitely don’t want to compare myself to JFK, however, it appears that we had similar Productive Prime Times. Naturally, it doesn’t always work out, and we can’t always schedule things in this way. It’s just a plan and a discipline that can align to your best moments. I’ve changed the way I work over the years and have found embracing my Productive Prime Time as a real boost to my output.
“Productivity has nothing to do with how much you do, and everything to do with how much you accomplish.”
If you want to get the full detail on how to embrace your Productive Prime Time and all of the other productivity tricks observed by Chris, I can recommend his book – The Productivity Project.
About the Author
Stuart Nielsen
Stu has been transforming financial services business for over 2 decades with his unique style of people leadership and problem-solving acumen. Never afraid to tackle the complex problems in any facet of an organisation, Stu will bring a sense of reality to any problem and leverage the combined energy of your people to create a high performing business.
Capable of working at the strategic end right through to delivery and knowledge transfer, Stu's strength in communication is an asset to any organisation trying to make sense of its self and drive change towards a common purpose.
"Data is great, feedback is awesome, however nothing is real until it is observed"
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