Have you ever asked yourself when do I work best? Take a moment and think about it. When do you get into a flow, is it early in the morning before the kids wake up, at 10 a.m. when your coffee kicks in or at the end of the day when you feel like much of the monotonous work is completed?
Autopilot
In the same way that research shows that there actually are early birds and night owls we know that there are times of day that you work best. But what usually happens is not the optimization of our time. How often have you rolled over in bed checked texts or emails took care of the kids? You’re on autopilot going through your morning. The most important tasks should get your best energy.
Best energy
Imagine you know that 9:30 to 11:30 feels like the very best energy for you. That is Grade A maple syrup, it’s like perfectly roasted whole bean coffee or the first-class seat on a plane. In other words, that’s expensive time, but most people will give their best energy to email, texting, watching the news, or chit-chatting with co-workers. When you get a text that upsets you or an email from a frustrated client or you hear something on the news that just plain throws you off it changes your ability to get things done.
Protect yourself and figure it out
You have to protect yourself or you might wreck yourself! Guard your brain from those invaders, they’ll throw you off. If your best time is later in the day, create habits to reset your brain so that even if something goes awry you can reconfigure. This could be:
- Exercise
- Talking to your partner
- Meditation
Get back to baseline but first figure out when you have your best work time, then guard your brain and then work on the best work so you can get to that next level.
Joseph R. Sanok, MA, LLP, LPC, NCC
Joe Sanok is an ambitious results expert. He is a private practice business consultant and counselor that helps small businesses and counselors in private practice to increase revenue and have more fun! He helps owners with website design, vision, growth, and using their time to create income through being a private practice consultant. Joe was frustrated with his lack of business and marketing skills when he left graduate school. He loved helping people through counseling but felt that often people couldn’t find him. Over the past few years, he has grown his skills, income, and ability to lead others, while still maintaining an active private practice in Traverse City, MI. To link to Joe’s Google+
