Ideal time of day, timing matters. Learn what your optimum time of day is to do your most creative tasks, your most energy taxing activities, and the admin and design a daily routine that sets you up for success. observing what you do best at particular times of date, and then allocating your workload accordingly, can really boost your confidence. You'll feel things flow better, that you achieve more, and that you're not pushing a dead weight of resistance, because you're trying to do the wrong thing at the wrong time. That's a quote from Pete Mosley. One of the problems I've have with the traditional office space is the assumption that we can work our full capacity consistently between the hours of nine and five or much later.

The truth is, our energy levels fluctuate throughout the day, and varies from person to person. personally think that the continental European tradition of taking a daily siesta or long, long lunch is a great idea. Rather than the more common tradition in North America or the UK, where most office workers quickly much lunch at their desk, it's actually less efficient to try to power through our working day, in an effort get as much done as possible. It's not only realistic, but it's also counterproductive. We don't do our best, most creative work when we're exhausted. I had an inkling of this when I was trying to be hyper productive in my office job, but failing and ultimately feeling very burnt out.

It wasn't until I read books like the four hour workweek by Tim Ferriss and read about Daniel Pink's discoveries in Chrono types, that I realized it's not so much what we do, how we do something, but when we do it, simply timing our activities in our day can be what gives us the most energetic leverage. time of day doesn't just affect how many lines of code we can write, or how well we can solve a puzzle thing. It's revealed how judges are much more likely to grant prisoners parole in the mornings and after breaks, and how students score better in math tests when they study in the morning, timing methods. Think has also applied what he saw in the study in these studies to his own life. For example, He learned that the majority of adults our mood and thinking styles follow a common pattern. Our ability to focus and analyze peaks in the late morning, takes a plunge in the afternoon, and recovers in the late afternoon and evening, which is when we're more likely to be in a good mood and therefore primed to think creatively.

With this information, think planned his day as the following morning, no emails or calls creative work only afternoon admin as administrative tasks, meetings and interviews. Late afternoon brainstorming and planning. This also happens to suit my chronotype and I plan my days very simple. I also schedule in bouts of light movement to keep myself perky and in a stable mood. I'll often take a brisk walk or do a bit of yoga in the late afternoon or late morning. When I return, I'm usually able to burst out another short bouts of very effective work.

I know from experience that bad things happen when I try to power through my exhaustion. I make terrible mistakes in emails and more technical tasks and in my web design work, this is far from ideal. When I have a full tank of energy, however, I feel enthusiastic, willing and able to do my best work. I also use these mini breaks as time to generate new ideas. How often have you found your best ideas come to you when driving or walking or in the shower? scheduling in leisurely time for these is key for creativity.

So your daily routine. I've been an early bird. Now for long as I can remember, I was never a big fan of sleep as a kid. And nowadays I fully embrace my early bird nature. I think part of this is part of this is just having a chunk of the day that's just mine. It's the most quiet, peaceful time and when I missed out on it, I feel a bit wonky for the rest of the day.

Like I've somehow been cheated out on an hour to have me time. The point of this is actually to say, early starts are overrated. If you're not an early bird, Know thyself. If you know as in you've tried it out for a period of at least a week that you feel like craft in the morning and don't come alive until 11am. Then you can totally work with that. I have several friends who do their best, most creative work past midnight.

However, starting the day, right, at whatever time you do Geez, really is key to having a productive day. The obsession with morning routines and rituals is probably not new to you. And if you haven't read Mason Curry's book, daily rituals how all this work, I highly recommend it. It contains truly fascinating little insights into the sheer breadth of routines and rituals that some of the world's greatest creatives, thinkers and doers have had. So what is the best morning routine? annoyingly, my answer is, it depends.

It depends on your personality, your preferences, your circumstance. But I won't leave you there. I'll share with you a few tips on creating a morning routine that actually sets you up to be more productive, that doesn't stress you out. That would defeat the purpose. And that leaves you energized for the rest of the day, maybe with help of caffeine. Tip on what sounds good to you.

If you've tried meditating, and it just left you feeling frustrated or you fell asleep, then skip it, it might not be for you. The point of this is to work out your needs and one of them. There are plenty of ways to start the day. Some ideas include but are not limited to a gentle Jaeger using a walker Block, drinking a glass of water with lemon juice, listen to music, reading something, not social media, playing with your dog or cat journaling, writing a gratitude list, setting your intention for the day setting your number one goal for the day. So there are lots of things that you can do that aren't necessarily productive in terms of work, work output, that they are energizing. And it's that energy that's going to carry you through your day, and help you get the things done that you need to get done.

Tip to allocate whatever time you have, I'll confess my morning routine that spans about a good two hours between me waking up and actually sitting down to work. And that's pretty long considering I don't commute anywhere. That used to be a tiny slice of that. whatever time you feel comfortable with scheduling in on that note, do schedule, it protects it with your life, this is your time. And if you want to start getting shit done, it takes that level of protection to actually do the things Tip three, the smallest wins add up. It may seem that the habits comprising morning routines, the individual tasks don't really amount to anything.

There isn't one big measurable goal that you're working towards. But that's not the point. The point is simply the act of taking time out for yourself that makes you feel energized, calm and prepared. It's in carrying out the daily routine, whatever it happens to be. That helps set you up for the day of bigger wins. If you see it like the first domino in a row, you know that just knocking that first domino down will set off a chain reaction that is much greater than the sum of its parts.

Typical use tools to make it easier. No, a good workman does not rely on his tools, but they really do help. Some of the tools, the apps, the technology that make my morning routine, so much easier to knock out our insight timer. This is really useful for being more consistent with meditation. It has a meditation timer. There is time.

And bells, plus some guided meditations from teachers all over the world. YouTube channels for yoga, I really love yoga with Adrian and Leslie Fightmaster, and paper blanks journal prompts app. Some of these are terrible, but there are many good ones for when my brain is totally blank when I sit down to journal tip five experiment. I don't think I've ever had exactly the same morning routine for more than six months. It's constantly evolving each time I see it as an upgrade. Change usually comes from wanting to add something in but realizing that three hours is pretty excessive.

So I switch out one activity for a new one. I test out for a few weeks and see if it makes me feel better or worse. If I feel better, I keep it. So if you do read all these articles about the best morning routine or someone that recommends you to Try something, go for it. But don't bet the farm on it. It doesn't have to be a forever thing.

It's not a lifelong commitment. It might become one but it doesn't have to just know how it makes you feel and give it a fair try for a few weeks. So your action step is write down What's your dream daily routine.