When I am productive? When am I not?
We’ve all heard the term early bird or night owl but which are you and what does that mean for your effectiveness at work? Does the way we structure our day need to change to suit when we are at our best? I recently listened to a talk on A, B and C time. I found the idea really useful so I thought I’d pass it on.
First I’ll define what A, B and C time is:
‘A’ time = I’m very focused, attention is good, I’m relaxed, alert, receptive, can’t be distracted and information can be understood in one attempt.
‘B’ time = I actively have to concentrate, attention waivers but I can bring it back, I actively avoid distractions, I’m awake and information may take two attempts before it sinks in.
‘C’ time = It’s hard to concentrate, I have to re-focus repeatedly, I’m easily distracted, I’m alive (just) and I can read a sentence three times and still nothing sinks in.
You’ll find throughout a day you will move between A, B and C time. For example I found that my A time is between 10am and 2pm. Not a big window. I also discovered that there is no point scheduling difficult tasks in the afternoon. 3pm is definitely my C time.
What is the point of knowing when I am alert and when I am basically just breathing? Well I can schedule my day so I’m doing the easy stuff when I know I’ll be in C time and the hard stuff in A time. Also I can try and work out why I fade to C time and how to get back.
Some ways I have found that can help me get back on track are: have a snack, go for a 10 min walk, book meetings in my C time (people are much more interesting for me than my laptop).
My suggestion: take one day in your diary and write in when you are in A, B and C time. Now look at how you could change the structure of your day to make you more productive. Also discover the tricks that can help you refocus and put them into practice rather than banging your head against a wall trying to concentrate when you just can’t!
