Productivity Tip - Protect Productive Time
I just wanted to point others to this short article that makes the great point that you are naturally more productive and focused at certain times of the day and that you should protect that time for yourself to be more productive.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-57364142/the-little-mistake-...
It is a great point that I wasn't really consciously aware of before, but now it makes total sense. I find that I am most focused and productive in the mid-morning and really get a lull in the mid-afternoon. I'm doing better at protecting my morning time but am now starting to wonder if there is anything I can do to break that afternoon lull.
Has anybody come across anything that works (e.g., going for a short walk, drinking 10 cups of coffee)? I'm curious to here what's worked for others.
2 Posted by Folke on 30 Jan, 2012 11:38 PM
Do something productive that you think is fun. Even if it is not the most important thing on your list. If you think it is fun then you will gladly do it. I guess "fun" can be seen as one of the aspects of the broader term "Energy" that David Allen uses - the more "fun" it is, the less "energy" it takes.
Another thing you could try, again within the bounds of Nirvana task management, is to have your bigger tasks broken down into smaller ones. This is something you can do when you are not too tired. Then later, even when you are really tired, the shorter the tasks are, and the clearer specified they are, and therefore less brainpower-consuming to interpret, the easier they will be for you to get done even if you are tired.
3 Posted by Proximo on 31 Jan, 2012 03:45 AM
Not sure if you realize it or not, but this is GTD. GTD is about doing the right task at any given moment which is why Time, Energy and Context is so important.
Energy is what is being discussed here. You have different energy levels through out the day and everyone is different. What makes GTD work is that you can choose to work on task based on your current Energy level which is always most productive.
If you have the most energy in the morning, then this is the most productive time to work on task with high energy. When you are on the downhill slump, you need to do task with low energy which are usually less stressful or could be fun as @Folke suggested
Not trying to be Mr. Hard Core GTD here, but I honestly believe that GTD is very powerful when fully understood and appreciated for it's simplicity.