DCT02102013: We’re More Productive in the Morning

DAILY CAREER TIP: 02.10.2013 – We’re More Productive in the Morning

 During my first 2 years at Docstoc (while I was still in my 20’s) I prided myself on staying at the office until 3am on a regular basis.  I thought I got so much work done in those hours long after everyone else was gone.  But in retrospect I got more menial, task-based items done, not the more complicated strategic planning, phone calls or meetings that needed to happen during business hours.  Now I stress an office-wide early start time because I know, for the most part, we’re more productive as a team in those early hours of the day. – Jazon Nazaar

A very good point by Jazon there. But there are few exceptions – people who are more productive in the night. I agree that we tend to do have the energy and composure of brain to achieve substantial result in the morning. I used to have a boss who used to say, anything he doesn’t achieve before 12noon in a day, he may never achieve it again for that day.

A related point: I a lot of tasks done when I am alone in the office than when other employees are around. My regular working hours are 8am – 5pm, but most times I work till late in the evening, sometimes as far as 11pm. I also go to work on weekends sometimes. I realize that, what I achieve in 2 hours when I work alone in the office, I don’t achieve as much in 8 hours during the regular working period. The cause is pretty obvious: distractions of answering phone calls, someone just walking up to make a request, intermittent informal discussions, etc.

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