Working To Your Your Body Clock

From the way that most office environments are set up, you would think that all human beings were at their most productive from nine in the morning until five at night, only on Mondays to Fridays. Most of us are aware that this is not true at all; every individual has a different time of day, or times of day, when they are at their most productive and can expect to pump out the most work. One of the great things about working from home is that you can organize your day around what your body is telling you, rather than try to adapt your body clock to what the business world tells you it should be. There are several ways to work with your body clock to make sure that you maximize your effectiveness and productivity.

Determine When You Are At Your Best

Almost everyone has heard of the terms “Night Owl” and “Early Bird”. In the nine-to-five rush of the corporate world, the early bird always receives the reward while night owls are left in the dark. Working from home gives night owls the opportunity to get ahead during their times of greatest awareness. Even early birds may find that they are more productive from home, as they tend to get up well before the work day begins and are usually beat by lunch time.

It is important before planning out your work-from-home schedule that you determine what time of day is best suited to you. Think of vacations and your days off; what times are you most aware and able to get things done? If you toss and turn at night or stay up late watching nothing on television just because you can’t get to sleep, then you might want to consider doing the bulk of your work when everyone else has gone to bed. Early birds should also think about hitting the computer as soon as they wake up; there is always time to have a shower and eat breakfast after a couple hours of work are put in and before the afternoon doldrums hit.

Revitalization

People who work from home may find that they do not need to pigeon hole themselves in one area as far as their work times. Early birds, for example, may find that if they take the time for a nap after lunch, they are ready for another couple of hours of work in the afternoon and the evening. Some night owls just need an extra kick of caffeine to start their day earlier than they usually do; night owls may also benefit from the advantage of a nap and some extra sleep-in time.

People who work from home often find that taking a little bit of time to get in some exercise will also give them the jolt they need to get back into the office. Schedule some time at the gym or a jog for when you are usually at your least productive; odds are that when you get back, you will be ready to tackle some more work.

As the previous paragraph points out, sometimes what is really needed is a chance to get out of the house. As your new workspace, the house can become confining and just being inside will prove an energy drain. Take the time to go out with your kids, or treat yourself to lunch, to get away from the feeling of being trapped.

You can never really beat your body clock, but you can certainly work around it. Working from home is the perfect opportunity to do just that. Many people will find that they are easily able to fit in a 40 hour work week by breaking their work time down into small chunks throughout the day rather than big eight or ten hour blocks.