How to Take Advantage of Spurts of Productivity

     We all work a little differently and have different working styles. Some of us work better in the morning while others at night. Also, the type of work we are doing can come into play, maybe structured work is better in the morning and more creative work is better in the afternoon. Maybe we are very good at creative work but not so much at other styles. The first step of course is to determine what work we should be doing and what we are good at and then the next step is to find out when is the best time to do whatever we are doing. This is the prerequisite to maximizing our spurts of productivity

    After we have determined the what and when that works best for us the next steps is to determine when our spurts of maximum productivity are. At first, it will definitely seem to be absolutely random and can happen at any time. That may be actually case, and if that is purely the case, than the best thing to do is take advantage of when they do occur. For others of us, there is at least some rhyme or reason for a spurt of productivity. It can be as simple as when we have a morning cup of coffee or an afternoon cup of tea. Here are steps of finding and maximizing our spurts of productivity.

  1. Regulate the timing of the spurts of productivity. While this may not always be possible, it is best when we can plan on times when were are the most productive so we can schedule our focused work time then, and avoid things like meetings or breaks during those times.
  2. Take advantage of these times. Do as much as possible when you are the most productive. Plan on getting most of the work done. The 80/20 rule (the Pareto Principle) can also apply here, 80% of our productivity happens in 20% of our time.
  3. Limit Distractions. Your sweet spot of productivity is not the time for team members, co-workers, bosses, even clients to bother you and interrupt you. Do your best to communicate with everyone that this is your focused time to get the most done you can and realiy need to focus. Even if you just blocking out two hours like 10 AM-12 PM each weekday.
  4. Don’t get too rigid and inflexible. Say you do pick 10 AM-12 PM every weekday now, 5 years from now that may be very different. We all change, our lives change, our work changes, and everything around for us change. Do not expect your most productive time of the day to stay the same forever, although it may stay the same or very similar also. If it doesn’t need any adjustments, don’t arbitrarily change it.
  5. Build Momentum. The more consistency there is, there is more momentum. You want momentum to build and systems to be in place. A good momentum will save you time and energy from having to think about what you are going to be doing if you already are

There are many other ways of working styles that I will likely get more into in future posts. Please let me know your thoughts on what your working style is and also how you work with spurts of productivity, if you have them. Personally, I know I do, and they are not always all that consistent. I am working on that because that will make it easier for me to get more done. I find myself having random spurts, sometimes late morning, other times late afternoon, sometimes even late in the evening. Take advantage of productivity spurts when you have them.