{"id":2717,"date":"2020-06-01T08:00:33","date_gmt":"2020-06-01T13:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/?p=2717"},"modified":"2020-10-05T15:28:32","modified_gmt":"2020-10-05T20:28:32","slug":"peak-time-day-do-everything-business-backed-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/peak-time-day-do-everything-business-backed-science\/","title":{"rendered":"The Peak Time of Day to Do Everything in Your Business (Backed by Science)"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019re the boss of it all. You know how your industry operates. You know how to develop solutions and how to market and deliver them. But do you know the most effective order in which to carry out your daily tasks?<\/p>\n

When you find yourself struggling for time, energy, or inspiration at certain times of the working day, there is probably a good scientific reason for it. Just like the rooster knows when to crow, your circadian rhythms are pre-programmed to do certain things at certain times<\/a>. Our unnatural modern work practices tend to steamroll over this hidden inner schedule.<\/p>\n

Plus, you\u2019re operating in a complex international ecosystem. Customers, clients, suppliers all have their own rhythms and schedules<\/a>. When they don\u2019t reply to your email or read your blog post, there\u2019s a good chance you didn\u2019t hit \u2018Send\u2019 at the optimum moment of the day.<\/p>\n

There is a lot of business-related research out there, with advice on what time to do certain tasks. But we decided to look at the whole human animal and develop a comprehensive, scientific guide to the peak time of day to do everything in your business. And you can start before you even get out of bed.<\/p>\n

Your brain is most creative during and immediately after sleep (<\/em>American Physiological Society, 2013<\/em><\/a>)<\/em>. When you leap out of bed and into the rational world, you\u2019re leaving a wealth of creative potential behind as activity in your prefrontal cortex slows from its sleep-state peak. Try to spend a few minutes brainstorming with your head on the pillow before your partner wakes up \u2013 or at least keep a pencil and paper by the side of your bed to note down your first thoughts before they evaporate.<\/p>\n

11 a.m. is the best time to be at your desk, doing meaningful work. You make your best decisions between 8 a.m. \u2014 1 p.m. (<\/em>Leone, M. et al., 2017<\/em><\/a>)<\/em>, and big data<\/a> has shown that 11 a.m. is the most productive moment of the day. It is also the most effective time to publish a Facebook, Instagram, or blog post.<\/p>\n

So, what to do in the afternoon? In-depth research shows that you can double your contact rate of business calls<\/a> if you make them between 4 \u2014 5 p.m. (compared to calling around noon). A perfect way to spend those often-directionless last moments of the working day.<\/p>\n

Our science-backed schedule for an efficient, effective day suggests 12 precise moments through the day when picking one task over another is the best step forward, plus bonus tips on how to make the most of each item on your to-do list.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Knowing your business inside-out doesn\u2019t make you an expert on how best to plan your day. Thanks to the work of scientists and researchers across multiple disciplines, our guide to the peak times for each task will help you make the most of your time with just a little smart rescheduling.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Vozza, S. (2015). The Best Time of Day to Do Everything at Work<\/a>. fastcompany.com<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Dosenbach, RA., Su, Y., Vlassenko, AG., Larson-Prior, LJ., Nolan, TS. (2013). Morning-evening variation in human brain metabolism and memory circuits<\/a>. journals.physiology.org<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Murphy, M. (2018). Neuroscience Explains Why You Need to Write Down Your Goals if You Actually Want to Achieve Them<\/a>. forbes.com<\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. Rosner, Z., Elman, J., Shimamura, A. (2012). The Generation Effect: Activating Broad Neural Circuits During Memory Encoding<\/a>. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov<\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. Migala, J. (2018). The Best Time of Day to Eat Breakfast, According to a Nutritionist<\/a>. womenshealthmag.com<\/strong><\/li>\n
  6. Arens, E. (2020) The Best Times to Post on Social Media in 2020<\/a>. sproutsocial.com<\/strong><\/li>\n
  7. Romano, E. (2016). Why 10am is the Best Time to Start Your Work Day<\/a>. dmarge.com<\/strong><\/li>\n
  8. Smith, J. (2013). 16 Things You Should Do at the Start of Every Work Day<\/a>. forbes.com<\/strong><\/li>\n
  9. Folkard, S. (1975). Diurnal Variation in Logical Reasoning<\/a>. onlinelibrary.wiley.com<\/strong><\/li>\n
  10. McGregor, J. (2014). The Best (and Worst) Times to do Things at Work<\/a>. washingtonpost.com<\/strong><\/li>\n
  11. Leone, M., Slezak, D., Golombek, D. Sigman, M. (2016). Time to Decide: Diurnal Variations on the Speed and Quality of Human Decisions<\/a>. sciencedirect.com<\/strong><\/li>\n
  12. Staff. (2017). Everybody\u2019s Working for the Weekend, but When do you Actually get Work Done?<\/a> redbooth.com<\/strong><\/li>\n
  13. Staff (2019). What is the Best Time to Publish a Blog Post?<\/a> blogtyrant.com<\/strong><\/li>\n
  14. Wilding, M. (2017). Science Says These are the Best Times to Learn and Create for Optimal Success<\/a>. inc.com<\/strong><\/li>\n
  15. Buckingham, C. (2019). This is the Best Time to Eat Lunch, According to RDs<\/a>. eatthis.com<\/strong><\/li>\n
  16. Danziger, S., Levav, J., Avnaim-Pesso, L. (2011). Extraneous Factors in Judicial Decisions<\/a>. pnas.org<\/strong><\/li>\n
  17. Harris, K. (2009). A Statistical Analysis of Suggested and Accepted Times for Meetings and Events<\/a>. whenisgood.net<\/strong><\/li>\n
  18. Narita, K. (2018). When is the Best Time to Make Business Calls?<\/a> ooma.com<\/strong><\/li>\n
  19. Smith, J. (2012). 14 Things You Should Do at the End of Every Work Day<\/a>. forbes.com<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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