How to Find the Rhythm in Your Day

Though each of us is different, we are all creatures and like it or not, creatures carry habits like turtles carry shells. Finding the rhythm that works best for you is an essential step in pulling yourself from meandering days to flourishing weeks. For me, I used to bounce between tasks like the dribbling of a ball, unwilling to stay focused on anything for any longer than the ding of an email would allow.

Needless to say, this was unproductive. As my plate grew fuller, my need for focus expanded, and I found there are definite times of my day suited to particular tasks.

From a hundred strategies, it is parsing my days into effective fragments that has had the most impact in boosting my overall output. I find I routinely have a stretch in early morning to early afternoon when I can consistently fire on all cylinders. My mind is clear, my coffee has kicked in, the caffeine is caressing my shoulders, and I feel creative, eager, and ready to roar.

This is the best time to turn off tweetdeck, ignore my inbox, and make my fingers fly across the keyboard. If I use this span of time to my fullest potential, I can close the lid to my laptop two hours later feeling surfeited with accomplishment.

Of course every sunrise is followed by a sunset and I invariably face dead spots in even the most delicious of my days. These nooks and crannies use to frustrate me, rendering me aimless, useless, and tired. My productivity during these patches would amount to little more than nothing, every to do only reminding me that what I really wanted was a nap. This, it turned out, was a grand time to bounce about a bit.

Open Tweetdeck and see what’s hit the inbox. Look at my reader, maybe drop comments. If I really want to party down, I can even go for a walk. 

The point is, you really want to use your minutes unless you want your minutes to use you. The best way to find your best rhythm is to play around with different schedules. You will know when the right one clicks because you will hear the whisper of certainty start to compliment your day. Don’t be a slave to something just because it’s what you are already doing. Conversely, know that just as our taste buds change, so do our habits. Don’t be afraid to try new things and adjust your schedule.

We are creatures of both habit and evolution, it’s okay to toss them together.

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