How to Become Your Most Productive Self

We all know the feeling: sluggish on the tube, struggling to force eyes open, desperately gulping a large latte in the hope it’ll be the answer to all morning woes. In this article we hope to give your body a bit of a break from caffeine, whilst making you all the more productive.

If Geniuses only Worked 4 Hours a Day, Surely that’s Enough for Us?

First and foremost, lets cover the biggest contributor to productivity levels: our brains. They have roughly four hours of good work a day in them. I hear you cry, why am I working bl**dy 9-5 then? It’s a good question, and a time frame geniuses from the past ignored. Charles Darwin worked for two 90 minute periods in the morning, and then an hour later on. Right there, we have brilliant evidence to take to our bosses that support an 11-3 working day, right? Not quite. The rest of the day shouldn’t be spent with the TV remote and sofa, instead, you should be filling your head with new knowledge, sorting through emails, completing other mindless but necessary tasks, or pursuing hobbies. Essentially, if your role is one that requires copious amounts of creativity and brain power, with less admin orientated tasks, use your time more productively in the knowledge you have only four hours of good work a day.

Time to Rise Before the Sun Does?

The next question to be posed is when is the optimum time to begin the productive work, and should it come before the less testing jobs? Certain businessmen (or mentalists) think that the answer is to wake at ungodly hours. Apple’s Tim Cook thinks the ideal time to rise is 3:45am, Richard Branson likes to treat himself to a bit more of a lie in, separating himself from his bed at 5am. There is no denying these CEOs success, and maybe their secret is rising before the sun does, but that’s not to say it works for everyone. It’s been scientifically proven that a constant awareness of time does not work in ones favour, resulting in people feeling frantic. You should wake up at a time that best suits you, 3:45am might be your optimum wake up call, but that’s not to say that that the more pleasant 7am will stop you from being successful.

A Positive Mind Frame will get you Further than a Double Espresso

What’s more important than the time you wake up, is the mentality you adopt from the moment your alarm rudely wakes you. If you get yourself into the right frame of mind from the word go, chances are you’ll be far more productive. A nutritious balanced breakfast can help, delving into a book, or a spot of morning yoga. Ultimately, it’s finding what works for you. However, one trick that is supposed to work for everyone is making your bed, as that’s one easy win for the day that sets you up for success. So, jump out of bed, at whichever time works best for you, make it, feel positive and be your most productive self.