Wednesday, February 24, 2010
New Poll Shows Most Productive Time of Day
WebWorkerDaily: "What time of day is your most productive? That’s the question I posed in a poll on my LinkedIn account a while back. The question is one I’ve noodled around with for several years."
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5 comments:
I've noticed that my most productive time of the day is during the hours that most of us would be asleep. Even if, I seem to be more physically tired at night, it still seems like I concentrate a lot better during these hours. I was thinking about it the other day and it seemed that part of the reason was due to the fact that everything is so still and quiet at that hour. This seems pretty obvious that the less distractions one has, the better they are able to concentrate but, I haven't really adjusted my schedule around it since it's a pretty odd time to be alert.
I'm exactly the same as Jacob. During those late nights when I really should not have been drafting, I found that I was incredibly focused between the hours of 2 and 4am. Granted, these are incredibly impractical hours to be actively working (unless classes began at 2pm every day). I've found a recent routine that includes going to a sit-down dinner around 6 and working at the table until 8, when the dining room closes, then moving down into the piano practice rooms in the basement from 8:00 until I finish my work due for the next day. The relative isolation of the table and especially the practice room help me to focus and eliminate distraction so that I can adjust my most productive hours.
I agree with Jacob and Brian. For me, late at night, or at least from around 6-11 pm, is when I get a great deal of my work done. I think that, at least for me, it is because that is really the only time in the day where I have time to work for a long period of time. This allows me to have the amount to time to create a focus that becomes extremely productive. I just get into the zone and I want to check as many things off of my list as possible. I think the most important thing is to set aside time to work for a stretch, while breaks are still important.
For me personally, I find that I can make myself work relatively productively whenever I really need to. But when I find that I work the abolute best is early in the morning, since I am lucky enough to be a morning person. So once I get myself out of bed I am pretty good about working, I find it especially nice when no one else is around because then I can just do my own thing. But I do agree that finding when you work the best is pivotal to getting your work done
Anyone who knows me would say that I am NOT a morning person. Therefore, I am most productive at night. I find that from 11:00pm to 1:00am is my sweet spot. Now, this semester has provided me with a sizable chunk of time in the middle of my Mondays and Wednesdays. While in the past, I have been really bad about taking the small chunks of time and making them useful, I find that I am better dividing tasks so that I can get things accomplished during times other than late night/early morning. I also believe that productivity is more determined by my surroundings rather than the time of day. As long as I am in an environment in which I can focus and not be disturbed, the time does not really matter.
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