Often times, we look up from a focused session at work and think,
“that was quick!”
As solopreneurs, time management is super important.
Without having a way to track time, our tasks can get done longer than we want them to, making us fall behind on our schedule.
A great way to organize our time & energy is into blocks called deep work & light work.
Not only will this article cover how scheduling our day into these blocks gives us more energy, but will also help us to have a better work-life balance.
Time Tracking
When I was studying in my 1st semester of college,
I often wondered why I was getting tired at certain parts of the day and feeling energized at other times. Especially when I either wanted to get things done but was feeling tired, or vice versa.
Over time of being in this cycle, not fully reaching my peak productivity levels for that day, I started realizing that my energy levels revolved around two things: eating & resting.
Having made this realization, I decided to do research.
But many resources I found talked about the usual jargon we hear on ads and such, whether it was “science-based” articles on how to give yourself energy, or using energy supplements to, I’ll quote, “get you in peak focus!”
Since these articles & supplements were supported only by monetary gain, I found that it was just a lot of crud being put on the internet.
So instead, I decided to be mindful of what I was doing in my daily life.
And I soon came to the realization that I needed to plan around when I was energized naturally, not by inducing a large caffeine intake by coffee or monster drinks.
I realized, too, that I wasn’t the only one thinking this.
1. Go based on your brain
This article by the ShortForm, gives ways of scheduling around your brain’s peak energy levels, and there seems to be some truth to it.
We all have peak performance times when we can handle so much, have the need to refuel, or feel like we’re on top of the world!
But it’s all based on our brain.
When we work with our energy levels according to our brain’s usage, we can get in a better productive flow.
The Shortform states,
“When performing a cognitive task, your brain summons a large, interconnected neural network that includes all related data. For example, if you’re trying to plan for your next meeting, your brain will retrieve a network that consists of protocols your job requires, memories of past meetings, and even emotions tied to how well the meeting went last time. Your prefrontal cortex must sort through the network and decide what is necessary to focus on — all within milliseconds.”
Wow, that’s a lot that our brain does! We may have thought that we were tired just after working out, but even when we’re simply recollecting memories?
That takes a lot of energy!
You might wonder though, how do we know when we’re less likely to be mentally fueled? So that we can plan around these times?
Well, going back to the Shortform, you might relate to this,
“When your brain is fully energized, sorting through your neural network is fast and easy. But, if you’re running low on energy, your brain struggles to focus on what’s important and can get distracted or overwhelmed with tangential information within that network.
For example, if you’re not energized while planning the meeting, your brain’s attention might slip into a connected memory of what you wore to the last meeting instead, and you begin wasting time thinking about when you’ll be able to go to the dry cleaner’s.
Extracting information from these networks requires considerable amounts of oxygen and glucose, and as these chemical levels move up and down throughout the day, the energy you have to be productive also fluctuates.”
Ever thought that you were weird to think of washing your socks during a meeting?
Most likely, you may have been boggled down with too much information at that time, and needed a breather.
We know that we still need to accomplish some tasks though, so planning around can be easy.
- Identify what you’re daily to-do is (what you do every day, outside tasks that pop up).
- Break these up into tasks you’re feeling more energized, and less energized.
- Give these a name, Light Work & Deep Work.
- Track how energized you are during the day until you feel you have good numbers.
- Compare & make adjustments, maybe some deep work was too strenuous to be deep work? Or vice versa?
Here’s some key information to remember though:
if you ever feel like something is too much or too little to handle, don’t work on that task for any more time, wait until your next time slot of light or deep work to fit it in (and take note of that).
An article from Simplyclearly states about this,
“Being intentional with you daily allotment of energy.”
And if you want a really in-depth article to help managing a 9–5 routine or if you’re needing energy to be anywhere at all times, here’s something for you.
2. Now let’s talk about multitasking
Many people see multitasking as non-negotiable when it comes to getting all they need to done.
But in all reality, it actually undermines productivity.
And here’s the reasoning why.
When we switch from one task to another, we’re constantly putting our attention on different things.
We’re needing to juggle around different thoughts from different categories that we can’t organize it into 1 main task,
and this actually causes an increase of time taken to finish even just 1 of those tasks.
This is why we hear of different gurus talking about deep work- the zone of being fully focused on one task for between 1–2 hours.
While these gurus are right about something, there’s a better name to call this zone- an Ultradian Sprint.
This time period is where you spend time really focusing, and then taking a period of rest- and I mean really rest, not just more multitasking.
To get into an Ultradian Sprint routine, this can be done by arranging tasks based on our ability to get into deep work.
Deep Work
is important in order to get fixed on a task, where your focus revolves only around what you’re doing & helps us get more done in that time.
But in order to be focused deeply during a long period of time, we need sustained energy.
That can be done with the right routine.
Ultradian Rhythm
The ability that each of us has to focus for a period of time, before not having the energy to keep it going any longer. It’s important to understand our “rhythm” for working so that we can get done what we need to, without feeling unsatisfied & feeling like we need to learn more.
As this article from Harvard states,
“Toward the end of each cycle, the body begins to crave a period of recovery. The signals include physical restlessness, yawning, hunger, and difficulty concentrating, but many of us ignore them and keep working. The consequence is that our energy reservoir — our remaining capacity — burns down as the day wears on.”
It is perfectly fine if you can only get done a certain amount of work in a period of time, the nice thing about this, is that we can train ourselves to work in this period of deep work for longer- without getting tired.
And no, coffee isn’t the answer.
Taking intermittent breaks help performance and renew energy to fight this.
Walks during breaks helps get ideas & a creative flow, because:
“when he walks he is not actively thinking, which allows the dominant left hemisphere of his brain to give way to the right hemisphere with its greater capacity to see the big picture and make imaginative leaps.”
- Grabbing a snack before deep work & then eating a meal after.
Personally, once I realized when my high-energy & low-energy times were, and had arranged them by light & deep work, my physical & mental health felt so much better.
My light work includes 2 time slots from 5:00 am — 7:00 am, and 3:00 pm — 5:00 pm. Not only was I able to get up earlier (my earliest time I could do used to be 6 am), but it helped me to still have the ability to get things done at my low point in the day, which was at 3 pm.
My deep work starts at 9:00 am — 12 pm, and 1:00 pm — 3:00 pm.
My times for refueling are 8 am — 9 am when I have breakfast & take a walk outside, and 12 pm when I have lunch & take a walk outside, sometimes I’ll have a snack at 5 pm in order to have extra energy to cook dinner, and I’ll often take a walk at that time, too.
Here’s what my day looks like in timeline-form
9 pm | Get to bed.
5 am — 8 am | Get up, Light Work on brainstorming & writing medium articles.
8 am — 9 am | Refuel (eating & exercise)
9 am — 12 pm | Deep Work on college assignments, anything requiring high mental energy.
12 pm | Refuel (eating & exercise)
1 pm — 3 pm | Deep work on designing Notion templates, learning new concepts, high mental energy work.
3 pm — 5 pm | Light work on utility work (emails, product mock-ups, no-brainer work).
5 pm — 6 pm | Refuel with a snack, going outside, cleaning my environment from the day.
6 pm — 9 pm | Cook dinner, eat the dinner, and settle down to get to bed at 9 pm.
Of course, this isn’t perfect.
Sometimes things happen that push me an hour forward or behind, but I keep it up according to my energy levels nonetheless.
Physically, this routine helped with:
1. Being fit — knowing when I was in a mentally low period helped me to arrange my tasks to make it a physically high period.
2. Muscle recovery — when I exercised, I realized I needed a snack instead of waiting for my next meal.
3. Hygiene — having an organized routine kept me aware of when I should take care of myself.
4. Posture — long as the days when I get back cramps from being on the computer for too long!
Mentally, this routine helped with:
1. Clear mind — I can easily think without having to push myself to jog my memory or focus.
2. Awareness — I’m understanding each part of what I need to do, and how to do it.
3. Ability to do — I can think strategically of my assignments, without needing to console courses that teach step-by-step & appease my used-to-be drained mind.
Another thing to note, which may be the MOST important thing to some of you. Is…
When do I drink my coffee???
Well, here’s my reasoning.
In the mornings I would have plenty of energy after eating & exercising, which helped me to focus naturally during my deep work session.
But in the afternoons, even with having done the same activities at lunch, I just couldn’t focus as well.
So, voila!
I drink coffee between 1 pm — 2 pm in order to:
1. Focus, have sustained mental energy that my brain isn’t supplying me for some reason (a chemical thing, I think that’s the reason)
2. No jitters! My mind is relaxed as I take my sip.
3. Still have a good sleep, since the ideal time to drink coffee is at the minimum 5 or so hours before sleep.
Funny enough, now that I’ve incorporated Light & Deep Work as a routine part of my life, I no longer love the weekends.
Why?
Because my routine goes out the window then! I’m not feeling healthy or myself when I don’t follow my energy, so I started actually loving the weekdays!
It’s like deep sleep, we’re likely to be more rested and get more done.
Our Internal Clock
Our brain that tracks our “clock,” regulates our metabolism, when we get sleepy, and energy levels in general.
So in finding out our times for light & deep work, we’re also finding out how our internal clock works!
However, our routine may be working against us, so here are some practical tips to end off this article on how to keep your internal clock working the way you need it to.
Firstly,
Understanding the Circadium Rhythm.
Which is “synchronized with the sun,” and give you signals throughout the day, depending on when the sun activates it!
+ Step outside, or at least to a sunny window while having breakfast.
+ Go to bed in complete darkness! Don’t worry, the bugs won’t bite.
Along with the Circadian Rhythm, find times to refuel and exercise when you need to.
This differs depending on everyone, so my best tip is to have your big meals at the same times per day, and more than 2 hours before bedtime.
Our Routine Keeps us Focused
With the right routine, we can have the right energy levels at the right time to get the right things done.
If we do the wrong thing at the wrong time — we will have messed up our day & needed to start over again the next.
But don’t let this discourage you from progress!
By implementing the right routine for you, a little a day at a time, you can set your internal clock to help you be
energized
&
sustain focus for longer.
Needing to plan what activities to get into deep & light work with?
The Energy OS helps you do just that, I designed this Notion template based on what’s worked with me, to provide a guideline to start with.
This way, you’ll feel less lost when planning out your day.