Here’s a little bit of trivia: did you know that you are typically shorter at night than in the morning by about 1/4 - 1/2 of an inch? Just as your body varies during the day, your mind also varies as the day goes by.
Some of us are morning people, while others don’t really get going until later in the day. I would categorize myself as a morning person, because my most creative and productive thinking comes at that time of the day. If I build up enough productive momentum during the morning, I usually can ride that wave towards the end of the day.
The key thing to recognize here is that although different, we all have a natural rhythm with our day. It’s important to recognize it and to take advantage of it. I make concerted efforts to keep my schedule clear during the mornings and instead hold meetings in the afternoons so I can take advantage of my peak time in the morning.
The counter situation is when you try to force this productivity wave during your off-peak time of the day, particularly for tasks that require creativity and thinking. Now, instead of riding a wave, you are trying to swim upstream. The more effort you put in, the more energy you lose trying unsuccessfully to be productive.
Jean at Cheerful Monk had an interesting post a little while back about how if you’re working too hard, you’re doing something wrong. Although Jean put it in context for personal development, this analogy is also applicable with personal productivity. Once we know how to manage ourselves, then managing anything outside of ourselves become easy.
Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power.
- Lao Tzu
译文:
驾驭你的生产能力周期
消息来自：Danflo
算得上是琐碎小事：你知道吗？你的身高在晚上会比早上矮四分之一到二分之一英寸。就像你的身体每天都会产生许多变化一样，你的头脑也会产生许多变化。我们当中一些人习惯早起工作，而其他人却要很晚才起床呢。我把自己归为早起的人，因为我最有发明创造性的想法都是总早上产生的。在早上我就能够获得足够的创造力的话，那么他通常我都能驾驭好我一天的工作周期而且可以直到一天结束。
这里认识的关键是虽然我们每个人每天都有不同的自然节拍。了解这个自然节拍并从中或得益处才是重要的。我尽量在上午就安排好一个清晰的时间表而不是下午召开会议再作决定。所以我能从我的最高工作效率的时间点上获得益处。
相反的情形就是当你面对一天中生产力低潮的时候，尤其是你还必须拿出一个创造性的想法的时候，就成了不是你驾驭你的生产力周期而是逆水行舟了。你越是努力投入那么你在不可能成功的追求创造了的过程中损失的能量就越多。
吉恩在快乐的僧侣上有一个有趣的邮件，它支持这样一个观点，就是你越是努力工作，年越是犯错误，虽然吉恩是用来说明个人发展方面的，但这个比喻也适用于个人生产力的情况。一但我们懂得怎么管理我们自己，那么处理任何事情都将是得心应手。
了解他人是聪明的表现，了解自己才是真正的英明的表现。控制他人是能力的表现，控制自己才是真正才能的表现。