Tangible Productivity
Published by Plan your day productively based on your energy levels, recommends Mark Seow.
Plan your day based on energy levels
Basing your workday on a 9-to-6 schedule, here is a plan that may redefine your productivity.
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8.30 am |
Have a leisurely breakfast. Refrain from thinking about the day’s events, and especially do not think about work. |
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9.00 am |
Switch on your PC, load it up, put in the passwords, and then imediately go grab your favorite beverage. Stay away from reading your 568+ emails. |
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9.05 am |
Have a chat with your colleagues. Find out how everybody is doing. It’s ok to gossip because you need to ease yourself into the day. |
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9.20 am |
Catch up on the news; read about international and domestic affairs. |
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9.30 am |
Only now do you begin to sieve through your emails. Look for the good news first (if any), then begin “streamlining”(aka deleting) the stuff that do not concern you. |
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10.00 am |
Ease yourself into the first immediate task at hand that needs the most attention. Continue through to the least interesting but necessary task. |
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10.30 am |
Restroom/beverage break. After this is your “Mighty Mouse” time. Go full stream at all your tasks as it is your most productive time of day. |
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12.30 pm |
Lunch break. Shore up on your energy, but go easy on the starch as your body will need more energy to break down complex sugars. |
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2.00 pm |
Don’t go back to your desk yet; take a walk to the other side of the office (or elsewhere). Find out what people are doing. Get updates on any juicy news. Call the family, the kids, the dog; log on to Facebook, post a Tweet. Keep it light. |
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2.20 pm |
Go back to your desk. Either continue where you left off, or do something new and exciting. I always prefer to do something new because the old stuff would be stale by this time. Doing something new motivates people, and at a time when drowsiness would be setting in, starting a new task can help keep the interest and attention levels high. |
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3.30 pm |
Break time. Repeat step mentioned for 10.30 am. You can attribute your enhanced energy levels to the approaching end of the workday. Focus. Try to finish up your tasks. |
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5.15 pm |
Digress and reflect. Reflection is key as to what you have accomplished for the day. Praise and thank yourself, even though the boss doesn’t do it. Start putting aside tasks for tomorrow. If it’s Friday, leave the stuff for Monday. |
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6.00 pm |
Shut down. You deserve it. Spend the last of your remaining energy on a good homecooked meal, wife and kids. Or hang out with your colleagues and friends. You know you got work done today, and that you will be equally efficient tomorrow. That’s good stuff. |
But it looks like slacking off!
Management, you ought to know better than to schedule a meeting right after lunch. Additionally, if you view this new work schedule as giving employees too much opportunity to slack off, think again. They are slacking off even as you are reading this, albeit stealthily.
Employees, it’s all about redefining your work style. Although the boss will first perceive it as you having too much free time on your hands, it’s alright. Just let your results vouch for this approach. People around you are going to wonder why you seem to have it so easy, and yet, are achieving so much. Well, just keep them guessing!
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