Protect your best hours

you know that not all hours are created equal. Around eight am, in that first cup of coffee, people often feel like they can conquer the world. Come two pm, energy is waning and there is no more conquering the world. Something that felt doable at eight am now feels like it is taking forever as you keep getting distracted. Many people then get a burst of energy around quitting time, as they need to finish things to get out the door, though it is probably not quite as big as that

initial morning zip. This pattern isn't universal. Some people are most productive from say four to seven pm, or from midnight to two am, or maybe from four am to six am, but most people aren't extreme, and the idea of focused mornings more or less during business hours and less focused afternoons is pretty much the norm for adults. This also means that for most people, the opportunity cost of doing something outside your zone of genius is much lower in the afternoon than in the morning, and yet

studying time. I am amazed how many people don't think about this when setting up their schedules. Sometimes you don't really have a choice. If you're a manager two levels up wants to meet you at nine a m. Well, you should probably do it. But if you are setting a team meeting with a group of people you see frequently and who you know are mostly still doing their jobs, why would you put this at nine am? This is

time people could be executing on their tasks. Unless a meeting is really requiring everyone's best and most creative selves, it is a waste to put it during most people's most productive hours. You can all tell everyone what you are doing and that you are still doing your job at two pm. I mean, unless you work with all

night owls, but if so, you probably know that. If you want to be more productive at work this year, one of the best things you can do is figure out when you are at your best, and then as much as possible devote these hours to the work that truly moves things forward. And I know this is easier said than done, but here's the thing. It doesn't have

to be all or nothing. You might start by seeing if you can protect some focused hours when people are less likely to request meetings if you do happen to get more done in the mornings like many of us, maybe you can try to put your first meetings at nine thirty AM or later and work from eight to nine thirty or so on your chosen projects, and then decide you'll make up the time by taking a real lunch or leaving a little earlier in the afternoon if

you might otherwise have been starting work at nine or else. You might try to protect late morning time. Sometimes people start thinking of lunch around eleven or eleven thirty and won't schedule meetings over whatever they consider that lunchtime window. If you know that you are usually on fire between eleven am and noon, try acting like that is lunch and protect it, and then actually take a lunch at twelve thirty or one. You might be able to do

this more days than you think. Of course, if you are going to protect this time, it is good to know what you intend to do with it. One reason to do a regular weekly planning session is that you can then identify what tasks might move you forward towards your professional goals in any given week. Then you can look at your schedule and identify some open, high productivity times, or you might block these things. Maybe you won't get every day, but if you need two good sessions and

you block three, most likely you will get two. One might get taken away from you, but hey, you've still got too and you can start feeling some forward momentum. Personally, I try to do this by limiting meetings or interviews or anything like that in the mornings. If there's no other good time, or it's a truly awesome opportunity, I will do it. I don't want to be what slows everything else down. But I have noticed that many times

people ask what time is good for you? If so, you could offer three times at work for you and protect your best most productive hours for focus things. If you work in one of those offices where people can see your calendar and just grab whatever they want off of it, well you still might be able to play within these rules. You can block some of your most productive hours for meetings with a particular colleague who will

then become your accountability partner. These aren't actually meetings. They are the two of you checking in to say what you're going to get done during these peak productivity times, and then afterwards saying that you've done it. If the time on your calendar is taken up by a meeting, then it generally won't be available for other things unless people make a plausible claim that it is an emergency,

and then that is fine. You are just making it marginally more likely that you use your best hours for what your best hours are best suited for. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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