How to find the time to make the highest productivity and the right schedule

Ultradian rhythms. For this phrase hides periods of activity and fall, replacing each other during the day. Typically, such periods lasting 90-120 minutes, but the intensity of lifts (and valleys) is not identical. In some moments of increased efficiency in other creative ideas we are rolling in, and others are capable of great concentration. Finally, everyone has such a special time, when he was still on the shoulder. Sam Carpenter (Sam Carpenter), author of the book "Systematic throughout"I call it a biological prime-time, and we will use the phrase" the time of the highest efficiency. " It is this time we are going to look for.

Experiment

First of all you need download special "efficiency calculator" in Excel.

For those who prefer to work in the browser, our reader Oleg Kuharuk I made a similar table in Google Tabs. Open its linkIn the "File" menu, click "Create a copy" - and you can work.

Let's see what's what.

The left blue box, which you will fill in the data. Every hour during the day you need to evaluate their condition on four parameters: alertness, concentration, motivation and creativity. The rating scale is set from 0 to 10 and entered in the appropriate cell. It sounds complicated, but in practice, the process takes less than 30 seconds.

By default, you start to operate at 6:00 am and end at 21:00, seven days a week. You can keep track of another time, but with the proviso that once you start, say, at 8:00 am, you will have to start at this time forever. If you want to exclude the weekend, you need to change the formula for calculating the average values ​​in the column "Average." Instead of seven divided by five.

On the right side you will see the summary tables and graphics. All of them are filled and are built automatically, there is no need to change anything.

In addition, the notebook is useful to you or any notes application. Be patient, set the alarm, so as not to miss the time of recording, and more! If at some point you can not write data to a spreadsheet, make notes in a notebook or application: will transfer to the table later. Avoid the temptation to slightly improve their performance, it is not a test, and not a competition.

On completing the table will have to spend at least a week: only then can you get reliable data. But in general, the more time you will take the experiment, the better the results will be: two weeks is better than one, but three - better.

Data processing

No special treatment there. If you honestly fill all the cells with the original data, then the left side of the document you are graphs of daily activity. You can easily see what time you feel cheerful when you are intent as the most motivated and able to work. Failures also will mean the most unproductive hours of the day. In the example that you have downloaded, filled in just two days, but two peaks of activity are seen.

Using this information, you can create a schedule so that the relevant activities accounted for the largest rise times, but you can relax on the decline.

But the possibility of techniques do not end there. Once you analyze their usual performance, try to change something in their lives. For example, give up coffee, or get up / go an hour earlier, or start an exercise program, run in the mornings, Eat healthy food, to meditate. See how these changes will affect your daily productivity graph. Perhaps because you will acquire a couple of useful habits and your life will be richer.

see also

• 80 to life hacking productivity →
• 10 myths about productivity that prevent you from developing →
• How to find time in your schedule to learn something new →