Let your body set the schedule

Hi IH,

This is my first real post here 😃

I'm no productivity guru, but since all three of us working on readng have regular day jobs, we understand how important it is to make good use of the time we do have. That's why I want to share something I learnt about recently that might be able to help you do that, by producing your best work more consistently.

You probably know about your body's circadian rhythm, a kind of internal clock usually regulated by Earth's day/night cycle. You might also have some understanding of whether you're a morning person, a night owl, or neither. Your body clock has a more complex effect on your energy than that, but I don't really understand all that, so thankfully these days we can benefit from modern sleep science by visiting our local app store.

I'm talking about Rise Sleep. Rise uses your sleep data (sleep debt & sleep timing) to estimate your circadian rhythm and therefore your natural energy levels throughout the day. Let me illustrate by turning my energy schedule on its side, from waking up on the left to night time on the right:

An important thing to notice is that my energy levels are not just up in the day and down at night. Instead each day has a morning peak and an afternoon peak, with a dip in between. My rhythm is not your rhythm, but this pattern of daily peaks holds true for most people, shifted earlier for morning people or later for night owls like me. High sleep debt means lower peaks and deeper dips – my 83% above is not bad.

Anyway, it turns out that during the peaks people are more attentive, find it easier to focus, are more energetic and make better decisions. Therefore, if we can align our activities with our energy schedule, we all stand to benefit greatly.

So what does this mean in practice? Peaks are when you are at your best. This is when you want to deliver that important presentation or knock out an essay you need to write. If your work benefits from a state of flow, this is when you're most likely to achieve it. If you're a proponent of Deep Work, this when you need to be scheduling it.

Similarly, it also means less important or "shallow" tasks that may not require your full attention, such as email, can be relegated to your dips so that your peaks are protected. Rise suggests that dips are also a perfect time to take a break or go for a walk, which I'd have to agree with, but it has been observed that creative work can flourish during these off-peak times as well.

I know it's not practical for most of us to structure our lives around our energy schedule, especially those of us with the biggest constraints on our time. However many of us do have some level of control at least some of the time, and hopefully this knowledge makes it a bit easier to work with our bodies instead of against them.

Give it a try!