I don't know about you but I definitely have a time of day when my mental and physical output is optimised.
If I am doing physical work such as construction I find that I am really in the zone from about 3.00pm in the afternoon and I can maintain good concentration and application right up until 8.00pm.
In terms of office work I find that I'm an early starter and eager to get at my desk and sort out pending stuff as early as 6.30-7.00am. I can work for an hour and a half before I have a coffee break. I then find I need to get away from my desk (not always possible) for at least thirty minutes. During this period I do a lot of my thinking. It is not, normally, until 2.15'ish that I'm back in the zone and firing on all cylinders to complete office type jobs. Although I do plod on, I am not able to maintain the same rate of productive output as I can the first half of the morning.
I am not trading as a landscaper any more so I have no real time pressures now, but I do retain a great deal of self-discipline. This is helpful when I need to push myself but I do find that when I hit my physical peak - between 4.00-8.00pm - I'm so in the zone that I'm driven purely by the workflow and concentration. If the job is enjoyable then there are times when I look back and wonder where the last three hours have gone.
The reason I ask all this is because a recent study has found that different athletes do better when they train and/or compete at certain times of day.
The BBC reports, early risers reach their peak about lunchtime whilst night owls were more productive in the evening. The study's findings appear to confirm why Spanish football teams do better when playing in the evening.
Maintaining momentum
Those of you who do gardening or landscaping for a living, know it's not an easy occupation. Often extremely physical during the day time (and with long hours) with paperwork, pricing and evening meetings. prolonging the day way beyond a nine til five type environment.
How do you maintain momentum and, probably more importantly, how can value for money be assured if there is a period of the day that one is not working at an optimum rate?
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I'm with you Phil. When we were doing a lot of construction, I would really be on a roll in the afternoon and often knock up another load or two of muck when we should be thinking of knocking off. A lot to do with 'muscle memory' I think - laying random rectangular paving or bricklaying always seemed easier and quicker in the afternoon, than in the morning. Eventually age took over tho and by 3pm the mind was still very willing, but the body began nagging - that's when I decided that maintenance was the way forward - but I really miss the challenge of a putting together the various facets of hard landscaping. Mind you, profit margins are up - so it's not all bad!
For me it depends on the work. If it's physical work, I'm better mid morning. But mental office type work, I can't get much done until about 2pm, but then can go late into the night.
Maybe I should do garden maintenance in the morning, and work on my websites in the afternoons :)
i have a fatigue illness called sarcoidosis, so I don't have much choice. For me I have to go like a bombs gone off from about 8 until late morning. then I go down hill rapidly for physical work. My best time of day is from 7pm till 10pm, so the children are in bed and im in the office. Its amazing what you can get done when you get used to certain time frames
Or do you just not enjoy website?
Well, I have spent a lot of time and money (student loans) learning how to program and build websites to come to the conclusion that I just don't want to work in an office environment, with pressure to work to deadlines. There is way more money in it, but there is more to life than money for me. I just have my own projects that I work on as a hobby now really, without pressure.
The main issue with working with website/programming is learning. It never ends. Every time you get used to something the tech moves on and you have to learn a whole new set of skills. At least gardening doesn't change too much every year.
What about quality issues?
If, for example, a hard landscaper is at their best before lunch but struggles after lunch, does that mean that the quality and/or quantity of work slides?
How can one maintain standards during less than productive parts of the day and not compromise reputation?
Personally find the hour directly after lunch difficult! Perhaps it's the switching back on, or the specific time of day? And then concentration levels rise again as we enter late afternoon.
Really interesting study on athletes being at optimum performance levels at different times of the day, thanks for sharing!
I find 0600-1600 the best time for me if I'm doing a physical job, when it comes to computer work id rather do it after I've been training and do it in the late evening once I've blow of some steam
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