My work days usually start the same way. I make coffee, turn on my computer, glance at my email, check my to-do list 鈥� and then do the easiest thing on it. Sometimes that is to write a new to-do list. I then do the easiest thing on my new list. Sometimes I add things I have already done for the pleasure of crossing them out. By the time I get down to actual work, I have faffed about for鈥� well, I鈥檓 not saying. My boss reads this stuff.
How to win at work
Make your work work better for you 鈥� from dealing with pesky colleagues to taking the perfect break and doing less for more money
I may be squandering my best time, though. Back in 2011, an across 84 countries showed that their mood followed a predictable path over the day: positive first thing, and then gradually souring. Positive mood aids creativity, decision-making and working memory, suggesting that tasks requiring those skills 鈥� running meetings, devising strategies, plotting hostile takeovers 鈥� are better tackled early in the day.
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Cognitive performance follows a similarly predictable path. 鈥淭he first half of the day is good, peaking in many people around 12,鈥� says , a neuroscientist at the University of Oxford. 鈥淭hen there鈥檚 a dip, followed by a second slight peak, but then you鈥檙e on the way down.鈥�
So the notorious afternoon slump is not an urban myth, but a natural feature of our body clocks, says Foster. Adenosine, a molecular tracker of how long you have been awake, starts to exert 鈥渟leep pressure鈥� as it builds up in your brain. So those mundane and routine tasks that you probably tend to do first thing 鈥� responding to emails, reading, filling in your expenses, writing lists 鈥� may be better saved for your dog-day afternoons.
鈥淪taff who work at very high speed or to tight deadlines are less likely to be promoted or feel secure in their jobs鈥�
A complicating factor is that we all have a natural 鈥渃hronotype鈥� that may not be in sync with our working hours. Around 20 per cent of people are 鈥渙wls鈥�, meaning that they naturally sleep late, wake late and function better later. Another 20 per cent of people are 鈥渓arks鈥�, at their chirpy best first thing in the morning. The rest lie somewhere in the middle.
Recent research in the UK 鈥� defined as work done in natural sleep hours 鈥� is common. Only 45 per cent of people have zero conflict, while 10 per cent have a conflict of more than 2 hours. These are probably owls, forced to go to work when their biological clock is screaming for them to stay asleep.
Owl or not, if you find yourself in a slump, take a power nap. 鈥淭he business world is thinking seriously about naps,鈥� says Foster. 鈥淎 20-minute nap in the early afternoon can increase cognitive performance and alertness.鈥� Or get some exposure to natural light or have a cup of coffee: caffeine blocks adenosine, reducing sleep pressure and mimicking the effect of a nap.
Get all this right, and soon it will be home time after a fulfilling and productive day. But don鈥檛 just switch off and clock out. Many productivity gurus advise writing a brief summary of the day鈥檚 accomplishments or failures, and a to-do list for tomorrow. Top of that list is to get a good night鈥檚 sleep, says Foster. The task of making a perfect day begins with a perfect night.
Take-home message: Find your rhythm and move to it
