Do You Know Your Work Pattern?
It’s important to know your work pattern, so you figure out what you can do to maximize your productivity.
How can I be more productive?
Knowing your work patterns can help you become more productive. It can also help you figure out what type of work environment is best for you.
Work patterns are the things that we do regularly at work. And they can tell us a lot about how we should manage our time and energy to be as productive as possible.
The first step to understanding your work pattern is to figure out what type of worker you are. A few examples are:
– The Night Owl: This is a person who is most productive late at night. They usually have an early wake up time and work late into the night.
– The Early Bird: This is a person who gets up early in the morning and starts to work first thing in the morning. They usually have an earlier bedtime than other people.
– The Day Owl: This is a person who sleeps during the day, but wakes up at night to work on tasks or projects until their usual bedtime. .
– The Desk Jockey: This is a person who works during the day, but likes to stay at the desk and work late at night.
Your Work Pattern Determines How You Approach New Projects
Your work pattern not only over the course of each day or week, but also over the course of entire projects and lifetimes. This is not just how you use your energy or what time of day is best for you, but how you tackle assignments and projects.
Some people are enthusiastic about starting every new project. They jump right in and get to work, often without even taking time to plan. They’re the project equivalent of the early risers, who hop out of bed in the morning and grab their jogging shoes. They get a project finished before others have gotten started.
Other people are slow and methodical. They take their time, carefully craft plans, and don’t get started until they have everything laid out. They work the same way and finish just as slowly and carefully as they started.
Still others work in chunks, or work steadily throughout the process, and finally, there are the late starters, the work equivalent of the night owl. They don’t even get started until most people are finished and the deadline is looming.
These latter aren’t the procrastinators; rather, they are the people who work best when they’re under the pressure of a deadline. Procrastination is an entirely different problem with different solutions.
I know how I work, now what?
Get to know your work pattern and use it to achieve your goals. Instead of trying to change your habits, plan ahead and make a plan. You’ll feel like you have more control over how you spend time at work.
This is why people, who start early, get frustrated when they have to wait until the last minute to do a project. Those who start late can’t focus on a project if they need to jump right in immediately, but work well before the deadline and enjoy it.
Figure out which work style applies to you. Notice how you work on the next few projects and assignments you take on. Not how you have to work, but what your natural tendency is.
Once you’ve figured out your style, don’t just accept it, embrace it. (The only exception is that people who jump right in might want to take a second to come up with some semblance of a plan.) You’ll get a lot more work done, it will be of higher quality, and you won’t be frustrated.