1 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:21,759 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to understand your weekly rhythms. When you 4 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:26,479 Speaker 1: know how your energy and commitments EBB and flow, you 5 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 1: can use this information to plan more effective weeks. Most 6 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: of us have some awareness of our daily rhythms. If 7 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: you are like a lot of people, you may find 8 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: that mornings tend to be a better time for you 9 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:45,520 Speaker 1: to work on demanding projects. By afternoon, on the other hand, 10 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: you may be rapidly losing steam, or perhaps you know 11 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: that you are on fire at ten pm at night. 12 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 1: That's why you tell everyone that you are a night owl. 13 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,040 Speaker 1: But you may be less attuned to your weekly of 14 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: them the patterns of mental energy that you experience in 15 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: a typical week. For instance, many folks who work a 16 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: Monday through Friday week find that they are sharpest on 17 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,840 Speaker 1: Tuesdays and Wednesdays. They have a weekend jet lag of 18 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:19,680 Speaker 1: sorts on Mondays and Friday's feel good for little but 19 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:23,399 Speaker 1: sliding into the weekend. On the other hand, if you 20 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 1: plan your weeks on Fridays so you know what you 21 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:30,120 Speaker 1: need to tackle Monday morning and you plan weekends that 22 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: are rejuvenating and don't involve going to bed past midnight, 23 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:38,959 Speaker 1: then maybe Monday is go time for you. That is 24 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: important to observe as well. Either way, you want to 25 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: identify your peak days and then plan accordingly. You don't 26 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: want to let those days get packed with low value 27 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 1: meetings and especially not in the mornings. Make sure any 28 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: peak day morning meeting are about your top priority matters. 29 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: If not, reschedule and try to carve out some peak 30 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: energy time for what productivity expert cal Newport calls deep work. 31 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 1: As for your lower value days, those might be good 32 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:21,680 Speaker 1: for batching the little things, scheduling catchups that are nice 33 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 1: to do but not critical, and getting on top of email. Well, 34 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: not that we will ever be on top of email, 35 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:33,880 Speaker 1: but if Monday morning is your peak time, you probably 36 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: don't want to spend Monday morning cleaning out your inbox. 37 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 1: If you haven't answered an email already by Monday morning, 38 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: it can probably wait until Wednesday afternoon. Along with varying 39 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,239 Speaker 1: the kind of work you do during different parts of 40 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: the week, you may decide to vary the length of 41 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 1: your days based on weekly rhythms as well. If you 42 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 1: hit Monday morning, ready to go. Maybe you could choose 43 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:04,000 Speaker 1: to work a longer day, say eight am until seven pm, 44 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: and then nine to five the rest of the week. 45 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:10,120 Speaker 1: It maybe nine to three on Fridays, or for folks 46 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 1: who are turbo charged Tuesday through Thursday, Monday and Friday 47 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 1: could be intentionally shorter days. Another approach is to push 48 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: hard Monday and Tuesday and then have a slightly shorter 49 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: Wednesday to get recharged for the end of the week. 50 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:30,640 Speaker 1: By being able to anticipate when you'll be at your 51 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: sharpest and when you won't, you can plan your weeks 52 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: in a way that sets you up for success. You 53 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: can manage your energy and manage your workload to make 54 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: more seem possible. In the meantime, this is Laura, Thanks 55 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. 56 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,600 Speaker 1: M Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You 57 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. 58 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at 59 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four then 60 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an 61 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:23,359 Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast Podcast at i heeart media dot com. 62 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. 63 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch. 64 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:37,480 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For 65 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart 66 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 67 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:44,800 Speaker 1: favorite shows.