Going on 17 months working remote it has been a journey to find a way to work productively at home without burn out. During the warmer days this summer I decided to commit to creating a healthy working schedule focusing on my peak and pit hours. What time of day am I most productive and what times of day do I need a mental break?
I started out by finding the time of the day I was most energized and would be the most productive, my peak. On Monday mornings, I began writing down a list of things I would like to accomplish in the week and prioritized the tasks, including personal tasks. Physically writing down the work I needed to prioritize throughout the week helped me to minimize distractions during my peak hours. Building this self-awareness allowed me to understand which tasks were urgent and important vs. not urgent and important.
Planning out my days ahead of time allowed me to determine what support I would need, what was my biggest prioritization challenge and what is one commitment I can make to focus on the not urgent but important tasks. Rearranging my responsibilities around my peak hours has made a huge impact on my productivity.
This past month I have started my days at the start of my peak hours, taking a run in the morning, logging on by 7:30am and catching up on emails. This has allowed me to take on my To-Do list with a clear head and ready for the workday. The early start has also helped with taking the 25 to 30 minute lunch break in the afternoon and stepping away from the computer. Prioritizing my tasks and realizing my peak vs. pit hours in the day has improved my time management skills. I encourage you this week to write down one goal to work on and share with a colleague or friend to stay accountable.
All good suggestions Bridget. I would also recommend folks consider getting a “Bullet Journal” or another kind of notebook to record your goals/accomplishments each week. Having an “old school” offline place to put down your thoughts/challenges/achievements gives you a chance to be creative, look at things differently, and get away from your screens. Plus you have all your stuff in one place and can look back on it whenever you want. I started bullet journaling 2 years ago (I use moleskin notebooks and Micron pens) and love it.
Great advice, Bridget. How did you decide when your peak hours are? Is it your gut of when you feel best, most energetic? How long did it take to decide – to know that it was the same each week and not unique to a particular day/week?