How do we spend our time during the day? Do we plan these activities in advance? Are we obsessive about sticking to a schedule? Do we succeed in completing our activities every day?
Consider these observations from Jennifer Gueringer, writing for the NetCredit blog:
“From breakfast to bedtime, we are creatures of habit. For those of us with a more settled lifestyle, our schedules remain consistent from day to day for weeks on end. Chances are, though, your routine has taken shape without much forethought — or at least without the kind of scientific insight that can help to maximize energy levels, productivity, and happiness. If this is the case, it could be time to rewrite that schedule with more attention to how the time of day affects your body, your colleagues’ moods, and even the outlook for your dog.”
“If you like to ease yourself into the day, your new regime may take a bit of work. Exercising before breakfast has been shown to help with weight loss — and that doesn’t mean you can shove breakfast back to 11 A.M.! No, breakfast is a dish best served within an hour of waking if you want to kick-start your metabolism. If that’s all a bit of a shock to the system, you may want to check in on Twitter before you leave for work. Studies have shown that’s when the happiest tweets hit the press — a perfect post-workout pick-me-up.
Take a look at NetCredit’s infographic on “The Peak Time of Day for Everything You Do.” [It’s a little — ok, a lot — rigorous for me. 🙂 ]
While I don’t doubt that Jennifer Gueringer’s observations are correct, I would never follow them. The idea of waking up at 5:30 am to exercise after going to bed at 1 am sounds like my own personal hell. Granted, I usually only get 6 hours of sleep a night anyway, but the idea of waking up that early for any situation still sounds like a nightmare. As for the other things Jennifer mentioned, who opens a salon at 8 am in the morning? Personally, I would elect to go to a hair salon around 10-11 am to ensure that not only is she wide awake, but also that she is not yet tired from a long day of hair cutting. When it comes to asking your boss for a raise, wouldn’t it make sense to ask during his or her lunch break? Near the end of the day people are tired from their busy work days and don’t care as much about the world around them. It is in the evening and at night when we are our truest selves, no longer caring to censor our words or keep our guards up. If I were a boss and someone who didn’t deserve a raise asked me for one at the end of the day when all I want to do is go home and relax I’d be way more likely to yell at them than if they had asked earlier in the day when I was still not tired and in a decent mood.
Jennifer’s post includes factual evidence, however I do not understand how some of these times are optimal. I am certain that the times are good suggestions, but the average human does not abide to them. On the other hand, I agree with her when she says that most of us have a consistent schedule. My schedule does not correspond with these prime times. In high school I had to wake up at 5:30 for 6:00 am practices, but I hated and dreaded it each day. Now that I am in college, I cannot imagine waking up at 5:30 and going to the gym. I usually exercise in the afternoon or evening. Not only do I exercise later, but I also wake up later, so I would not be eating breakfast or getting a haircut at the prime times stated. It seems my schedule is hours behind the one listed. However, I would not go grocery shopping or walk my dog that late. Even though most of the times are based on facts, it is still hard for me to think that these are optimal times.
While reading Jennifer’s post I was surprised to come across some things I do on a daily basis. Some of these activities I knew were the optimal time to do, but others but others pleasantly surprised me by. Although there were many activities that I was shocked by the specific time period given. Looking for housing at 9:00am and making an important decision after 1:30pm was something that I was not aware of. I was very surprised because I feel my brain works most efficiently around 10am while I am fresh and ready to go. I could not agree more with going to the gym early in the morning, it helps you kick off your day on the right foot. Personally going to the gym in the morning makes me less groggy and my mind starts to starts to work more effectively earlier to reach its top potential later in the afternoon.
Looking at this post, I do see activities that I do on a daily basis, however some of the times they are done seem a little ridiculous. I think the whole concept of this post is that everyone has their own routine that they do during the day. It is a little more easier for people who have settled lives compared to those of us who may still be in college and getting an education. Having a routine is a normal way to be productive and get things done in todays world. Obviously, everyone is not going to have the same daily routine. That would make us all seem like robots!
I am very attentive to how I spend my time during the day. There are many aspects of this infographic that I can relate to and many that have come as a surprise to me. I can attest to working out in the morning (not quiet as early as 5:30AM); it gives you a great boost of energy and motivation to take on the rest of your day. The scheduled times for meals are very fitting; however I think that focusing on what you eat and how healthy your food is could compensate for the timing situation. Not everyone will eat at those exact times so being conscientious of your nutrition could also be very beneficial as you go on with your day. The optimal time to tweet, get a haircut, and brainstorm ideas surprised me; I wouldn’t of thought to take the stylists or other twitter users feelings into account against my own actions.
I can relate to this post because I like to keep similar schedule day to day. I find it interesting that some activities can be better when performing them at a certain time of the day. For example, I didn’t know that exercising first thing in the morning was the best time! I also find it fascinating that if you need to remember something longer then it’s better to read it in the evening. I did know that you’re not supposed to eat after 7 pm because thats a rule I usually follow. Sometimes following a schedule is difficult because we lead busy lives, but overall this information was helpful and thought provoking.