Habit-Changing: Micromanaging My Day
Do no harm, and when you have time and vigor left, do good.
When you want to live by this maxim, you can push through the hard parts of your day, martyr-like, by nothing but force of will. Or, you can optimize your time, alertness, and energy. Dance to your circadian rhythm!
As a caregiver and nurturer, my schedule has long been a strong suggestion; plans, merely stated hopes. But, my multigenerational family has matured, presenting me with more empty hours than I remember what to do with. I intend to make the most of them. For me, When: the Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing offered a beginner’s guide for taking advantage of my natural rhythm.
The silver lining of a quarantine was having the ideal opportunity to use the Daily When Tracker to figure out my body’s natural rhythm. I still got up around 5 and conked out around 11, so I adjusted the tracker’s wake time. Looking over the levels of mental alertness and physical energy I’d tracked, I got a surprise. Around 1 pm, my energy started to wane. By 2:30, I hit a crabby, coffee-swilling, snack-grazing binge that I later recognized as a mid-afternoon trough. Every night, I hit a wall around 7, but pushed through it with activities and chores. By my 9 o’clock bedtime, I was too buzzed with nervous energy to sleep.
Highlight Unhelpful Habits
Reviewing what I’d tracked explained so much. I recognized that I was white-knuckling my way through the early afternoon, irritable and annihilating many a health plan with crunchy, salty, sugar fuel. I really just needed a little nap (!) or a walk, some quick rejuvenation. Worse yet, I had snared myself in 2 self-defeating trends.
First, I didn’t respect my natural nightly wind-down. Instead, I pushed myself several hours past my natural bedtime, with little to show for the sleep I’d denied myself. Working against your natural sleep cycle can lead to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, so it’s healthier to bend to the brain’s love of routine. Second, after my morning workout, I plunged head-long into menial or administrative tasks, which Pink recommends for the trough period when your analytical or creative faculties ebb. I was using some of my most productive hours to answer email!
Know Your Flow.
I am a lark. That means I’m at my most focused in the morning (peak), ideal for project development, productive engagement, and tough decisions, really any analytical task (not email). Insightful work benefits from a relaxed mind, and for me, I’m at my most creative in the early evening (recovery). The mid-afternoon slump (trough) is ideal for administrative chores. Scheduling my goals to match my energy isn’t always possible, but, when I can, I am so much more productive. What about that 2:30 cliff-dive? Rather than torturing myself, I follow Pink’s guidelines for scheduling 2 good breaks every day. My favorite is the nappuccino. Not a napper? You might meditate, do Yoga, walk some stairs, or chat with your co-workers.
Tips for Your Trough
Of course, most of my schedule is not in my control. Knowing my natural peaks and valleys still has a lot of value. Let’s say I have a meeting or a really challenging task in the mid-afternoon when I’m normally brain-dead. Imagine I have a 3 pm slot working with some high-energy, frustrated teens that need attention and help. Recognizing I’m not meeting their needs, I might feel like I’m not capable or blame the kids for not being motivated.
Instead, aware of my daily rhythm, I know that I’m not going to perform well or feel as confident as I would earlier or later in the day. I can plan a mini-break or adjust the environment (some citrus essential oils). Failing that, I can grind through the analytical or creative work with as much attention as I have, knowing the negative emotions I feel are more about the time of day than the actual situation.
Planning ahead of time, when I do have the energy, also sets me up for success during these hours. So, if you have important work to do during your trough, plan the work, set up as much support for yourself as you can ahead of time (including a pleasant cup of tea). Also, note your negative emotions; you can deal with them later, if they still matter.
Keep in mind, too, that chronobiology affects everyone. Show compassion. That night owl I work with who wilts in the face of my nuclear bomb of sunshine every morning? I think I’ll greet him with a chai latte tomorrow instead of a boisterous hello.
Curious about chronobiology? Here’s a resource or two about its connection to obesity.
Have you tried implementing what you’ve learned about chronobiology? I did my best, but what do I know? You probably did it better! How’d it go?
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