How to Optimize Your Day for Maximum Productivity
This method requires a big time commitment upfront, but the insights you’ll get out of it pay off in the long run.
The basic idea is to track your energy, motivation, and focus to get a sense of when, where, and how you’re the most productive.
To start, eliminate any factors that could mess with your energy — changes in caffeine intake, staying up late.
Then, record what you’re accomplishing once an hour, every hour that you’re working for a few weeks straight.
The exact details that you record may vary, but to get the most accurate results you’ll need to be as consistent as possible.
Time and activity tracking software like Rescue Time and Toggl can be a big help here.
Once you’ve gathered your data, start looking for patterns:
Do you have less motivation on the days when you skip breakfast? Start keeping energy bars or fruit and yogurt on hand for a bit of quick energy.
Is your most productive hour around 10 AM? Schedule your most important tasks for that time and push meetings off for later in the day.
The sheer amount of information that you can gather about yourself by doing this little take-home version of a scientific study will astound you.
You will discover interesting things about what drives your productivity and if you can diligently track all three weeks, you’ll come out the other side a productivity superhero ;)