7 Productive Day Tips That Help You Start Strong

You probably know someone who’s sharp at 7 a.m., and someone else who doesn’t say anything useful until after lunch. Most of us fall somewhere in between, and we tend to plan our days as if everyone ran on the same clock.

Psychologists Mareike Wieth and Rose Zacks studied what that does to our thinking. In a 2011 paper in the journal Thinking & Reasoning, they had 428 college students fill out a questionnaire to find out whether they were morning types, evening types, or neither. Then the students tried six problems in either the morning or the late afternoon. Half were analytic problems, which you solve step by step. Half were insight problems, the kind that seem impossible until an “aha” moment. On the analytic problems, time of day made no consistent difference. On the insight problems, students did consistently better at their non-optimal time of day, meaning mornings for evening types and late afternoon for morning types. Students with no preference showed no difference.

The researchers’ explanation is that at our sharpest time of day we’re very good at filtering out distractions, sometimes too good, which can get in the way of a fresh idea. Wieth also cautioned that for most types of work, your optimal time is still the better choice.

Two cautions from me. These were short lab puzzles given to college students, so I’m applying the idea to your workday as my own extension. And the seven tips below are mine. I’ll flag the ones that lean on the study.

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1. Find out whether you’re a morning or an evening person

In the study, students answered a questionnaire to learn their type. You can do a rough version at home. Ask yourself when you feel sharpest if nobody is telling you when to get up. If you need an alarm and still feel foggy at 9, you may lean toward evenings.

When I first paid attention to this, I noticed I do my clearest thinking before ten and lose steam around three. That’s my pattern, and yours may be different. Notice it for a week before you decide.

Try this: For one week, rate your focus from 1 to 5 at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., and 7 p.m.

2. Put your most careful, step-by-step work in your sharpest hours

Analytic work, like budgeting, writing a report, or checking details, is where focus pays off. Wieth advised that for most work, your optimal time is still the better choice. So guard those hours for the tasks that need your full attention.

Don’t spend your sharpest hour on email. That’s my own advice, and it’s the change that helped me most.

Try this: Choose the one task tomorrow that needs the most careful thinking, and schedule it in your sharpest window.

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3. Save stubborn problems and fresh ideas for your off-peak time

This is the surprise from the study. Insight problems were solved more often when students weren’t at their peak. If you’re stuck on something that needs a new angle, try it when you’re a little less sharp.

It’s an extension to apply this to your own stuck problems, since the study used puzzles. But it’s worth a try. A few years ago, I got unstuck on a project by taking it up at the end of a long day instead of pushing through in the morning.

Try this: Pick one problem you’re stuck on, and look at it again at your off-peak time.

Your best hour for focus and your best hour for ideas may not be the same hour.

4. Choose one clear task to start with

A strong start doesn’t mean doing more. It means beginning with something specific. Decide your first task the night before, and write it where you’ll see it.

When you know what comes first, you skip the drifting. That’s my own habit. It works with any schedule, including an evening-person one.

Try this: Tonight, write tomorrow’s first task on a sticky note.

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5. Protect your first hour from other people’s requests

Whatever your sharpest time is, don’t hand it over. Put your phone on silent and hold off on messages until you’ve made some progress.

Even twenty minutes of uninterrupted work can set the tone. That’s my suggestion, and it fits the idea of guarding your best hours.

Try this: For the first twenty minutes of your sharpest window, close messages and notifications.

6. Plan tomorrow before you finish today

Five minutes at the end of the day saves time the next morning. Write down your first task and the two or three things that matter most.

Then you can start right away when your sharp hours arrive. That’s a habit I rely on, and it’s not from the study.

Try this: Before you close your day, write your top three tasks for tomorrow.

7. Adjust after a week, since your clock isn’t fixed in stone

Look back at your notes. Did your focus rise when you expected? Did a problem come together at an odd hour? Adjust your schedule to match.

Your energy can shift with seasons, sleep, and life changes. If your sleep is often poor or you feel tired most of the time, it’s worth talking with a doctor. That’s my caution, not a finding.

Try this: After seven days, circle your best and worst times in your notes, and move one task to match.

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