Making the most of your day means choosing the right time to work: it’s when we’re most effective, understanding our brain better.
Irvan Dawes, neuromanagement consultant, uses neuroscience to explain what goes on in our brains throughout the day and offers simple advice. Optimize your working day.
7 am: Wake up without a screen
is ideal for Wake up with daylight which (through a hormonal cascade) gradually prepares the body for action. To avoid, check your email and SMS immediately: this causes overload The prefrontal cortex And immediately triggers the release of cortisol, the stress hormone. Double penalty effect for the brain! Even better is taking a shower, a time that often allows ideas that arose during the night to emerge, especially thanks to “unprecedented collaborative processes.” Be careful, these illuminations are very fleeting, it is better to notice them!
7:30 am: Organize your day in writing
A “pre-action” break to organize your day in writing on a sheet of paper (even better, in the form of a drawing): objectives, projects, highlights, interactions… This helps you feel less overwhelmed by events.
9 am: Time dedicated to strategy meeting or brainstorming
The brain is fresh, ideas come easily, we solve problems easily. Maximum effective meeting duration: 45 minutes to 1 hour, no more!
10 am: Peak concentration
Attention, concentration and concentration skills are excellent: this is the phone and email slot and if necessary we put on a headset, in short, we distinguish ourselves! Objective: Stay 45 minutes to 1 hour without looking up.
2 pm: Nap break after meal,
15-20 minutes maximum nap so as not to disturb Circadian rhythm day/night. Unstoppable for rapid regeneration of your brain and regaining your abilities and voice Energy for the whole afternoon.
2:30 pm – 3 pm: Outdoor walking
Need to solve a problem, need to think, improve speech? We leave the office and go for a walk, which increases the brain’s glucose supply: thus, Cortex and hippocampus (Memory seat) works better. It’s a good idea when you have to talk to a colleague or your manager: the emotional effects are moderated during short walks and serial relationships are less oppressive.
6pm: No meeting, no decision!
Cognitive fatigue Accumulated, private needs… it’s at the end of the day that we make the worst choices because the tired, brain gives up and quickly goes into autopilot mode.
9 pm – 10 pm: Disconnection from screens
We disconnect from the screens (all of them!) to prepare for the night: an average of 7 hours of sleep is necessary to clean and regenerate neurons and consolidate the day’s data on the hard drive of our memory.
Irvan Daves is the author of 24 Hours on Your Mind (Ed. LaRose).. www.neuroperformance.fr
You may also be interested in:
⋙ Integrate these 5 habits into your daily life for a healthy brain
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⋙ How to boost your brain?
