In the last video, we looked at the importance of scheduling the big things, which we're now going to call our elephants first, and then around those fit our smaller tasks shape, and then let the mice get down dealt with the tiniest tasks get dealt with, in between the other big tasks. The question is, when should we do the elephants? Well, it turns out the answer is linked to the way your physiology works. Because I'm sure like me, you can recognize there are certain times of the day when you feel at your peak, your energy is high, your mental alertness is acute, and you can get lots done very productively. There are other times of the day where your energy is down. And frankly, you'd rather go to sleep It's obvious, as soon as I pointed this out, the elephants should get done at the peaks of your energy, the sheep, that middle sized tasks should get done at the lower peaks.

And the mice should get done. When you don't have that much energy left, so we need to do is to plot a chart of your day from morning to evening. And then plot your energy levels on that chart. Now, different people have different energy charts and the one that I'm putting up on the screen now is Mommy, and it also happens to be the most common type of energy chart for most people. They find that they get up and fairly quickly the energy reaches a peak in morning, but around lunchtime, it starts to dip and by the after lunch period, it reaches Minimum for the daytime, which coincides, by the way, with when, with the time that many cultures take an early afternoon nap siesta. And then we tend to get our second wind in towards the end of the afternoon.

And then it either tails off, as it's time to go home and unwind. Or if we've got something, energizing to attract us, with our evening, it comes to another peak here. So clearly, for me, my elephant tasks, my biggest, most important most mentally demanding task is going to get done in the morning. start as early as I can, and give a good run at it. As my task as my energy level plummets, when I reached the bottom, that's the time when I'm gonna do my mice tasks. I'm going to do the little things, check my email, do some basic administration tasks that don't require much concentration.

And then as it comes up again, towards the second half of the afternoon, I can take on something else reasonably substantial, knowing that I've got a limited time to do it, but I have got a fair amount of attention. If you understand the way your energy cycles work, then you can schedule tasks accordingly. It's also worth being aware that things can affect your energy levels. Your hydration can affect the cognitive power of your brain. As our brains start to dry out, and we feel a bit dehydrated, then our concentration lapses. So keep your energy levels up simply by drinking water.

And we know that some sweets and some fruits give us a boost of energy as sugar causes through our body. So you can use that to govern your energy levels and give them a boost and it's shorter whilst also using other foods like brown rice, brown bread, foods to give you a long term boost in energy, if you eat those at the start of the day. If you have a really good breakfast Then that gives you a rise in your energy level that can last throughout the day. Exercise. Systemic exercise can give you higher energy levels. Overall it lifts the whole graph upwards.

But if you find your energy levels flagging, then get up and move around. Step outside, because sunlight boosts your energy levels, as does fresh air. Take a few deep breaths. Moving around, taking a few deep breaths getting outside for five minutes will refresh you for another hour of long hard work. Caffeine is another thing that affects our energy levels. Of course, if you're addicted to caffeine, you have several cups of tea or coffee a day then chances are it doesn't do very much to lift your energy levels.

What it does is it stops them crashing. If on the other hand, you have one or two cups of coffee or tea a day and you will find it boost when you have that cup of tea, or coffee, so you can manage your energy levels. And there's one more thing I want to mention when it comes to energy levels. And that's people. And this directly affects some of the choices you might be able to make in terms of optimizing your choices about timing. Because some people are extrovert, when they're with other people that come alive, they get energized.

Now, if you're an extrovert sort of a person, the best time to have meetings is when your energy levels are down, because the people around you give you a boost and you get some free extra energy and therefore a more productive day. On the other hand, if you tend to be a more introverted person who finds that being with people and interacting socially, takes energy from you, and you recharged by being on your own, the worst time possible for you to be involved in meetings. When your energy levels are at their lowest, because you have to work even harder to engage fully with that group of people with draws energy from you, it's much harder work, best time for you to be involved in meetings, of course, at your peaks when you've got plenty of energy to give to the social engagement. So energy levels and understanding your own energy levels are vital to making informed choices about when to schedule the big important tasks in your day.

And if you have to make choices that are not ideal, then knowing about using your food using your exercise, using fresh air, using water will help you to manage your energy levels locally.