The Rhythm of Time

I’ve been thinking about time this last week or so. Probably because it’s the school holidays here in Scotland and that means I have a little more time to play with both at work and home. I’ve worked in education for the last 15 years but never had school holidays.

I came across an article by Daniel Pink in the Wall Street Journal about how the time of day influences our cognitive capacity. Our cognitive capacity changes throughout the day in a fairly regular and predictable way. Also, there are times of the day that are better suited to certain tasks.

Imagine if you could maximise your cognitive capacity each day by using these rhythms of the day to influence what you do at different time of the day? Research suggests that there are 3 parts to the day:

Peak | Trough | Rebound

During the peak our executive function (ability to think strategically) and concentration is at its best. During the trough this plummets but then we experience a rebound and this is the best time to be creative.

Most of us experience the peak late morning so this is a good time to tackle things that require concentration, focus and sustained attention. Many of us will recognise the slump that comes early afternoon! This is a good time to do tasks that don’t require the same level of attention - perhaps some admin tasks? The rebound comes late afternoon, early evening when we are alert but more open. This combination brings the opportunity to spot connections, see possibilities and generate new ideas. If you are a night owl then reverse the order of the phases.

The key is to create some synchronicity between your rhythms, the time and your tasks.

So my challenge for you...
- what do you notice about your rhythms - spend a couple of days checking in with yourself and see how you feel at different times.

- what do you normally find yourself doing during these time? Do you have synchronicity?

What changes could you make?