Throughout the month of February, I tried an experiment – one I don’t think has ever been done quite like this before.
I tracked my energy levels, on a scale from 1 to 10, every hour of every weekday. I kept track of when I drank coffee, when I took breaks, when I was at a coffee shop, and when I got distracted watching Ben Folds concerts.
That last metric was particularly vital to the experiment. Trust me.
Below is a summary of what I found, along with insights I think we can all learn from.
And at the end: a free template I made that you can use to perform this same experiment yourself.
Walks are Vital
Remember how Wii Sports would tell you to take breaks? (see pic above)
Turns out they were on to something.
I highlighted each of my breaks that lasted 15 minutes or more, and found that my energy levels consistently were bumped up by one or two points every time I returned to my work.
Especially useful were walks outside.
One study in Finland found that workers who took fifteen-minute walks outside experienced higher levels of concentration and relaxation for the rest of the day.
If there’s nature around you, even better. The more greens and blues (also the name of a pretty solid late-career Pixies song) you see on your walks, the greater the returns.
Actionable Step
Several studies have shown that about the “sweet spot” of walking time during the workday is about one hour. The benefits are far-reaching – it combats lethargy, increases productivity, reduces stress, and improves your overall health.
The good news: it turns out, it doesn’t really matter how you split that hour up throughout the day. So do some testing, and find out what’s best for you.
This is easy – for one week, try five different splits of time between your walks.
On day one, try walking for five minutes every hour. Day two, try walking ten minutes every two hours. Day three, try one long walk in the middle of the day. You’ll generate some interesting insights into what works best for you.
Even if you’re not hitting one hour each day right off the bat, don’t sweat it. Just start somewhere.
Pay Attention to the Time
One huge takeaway from this experiment was that I consistently had higher energy levels around 1-3 PM.
Why is that? I’ve got no idea.
But now I plan my days around it – got an important client meeting that I need to be pumped up for? Now I know when to schedule them. Got a big project to cross the finish line? I’m blocking out 1-3 PM for that.
It’s made a huge difference. No more sluggish progress on the things that really matter – I save my highest brain-power tasks for the same time every day.
And if you’ve read Atomic Habits, you know that consistently doing something at the same time every day trains your brain to activate certain areas at that time. So the benefits compound over time! My brain is training itself to focus up at the same times every day.
Obviously, this level of focus and “brain training” isn’t sustainable for an entire workday – that’s why this tactic is so useful.
Oh, and if you haven’t read Atomic Habits, do yourself a favor and pick it up at your local library.
Actionable Step
For the next week, try organizing your day in blocks of tasks that require certain amounts of brain power. At the beginning of each day, take a look at your tasks and rank their energy requirements out of ten.
Then, test out those different kinds of tasks at different points throughout the day.
For me, I do my sevens through tens between 1 and 3 PM. For you, that sweet spot might be 10-noon. Who’s to say? (Hint: you.)
Then, at the end of the day, jot down what worked and what didn’t. Take those notes in the next day, and fine-tune what didn’t work. Build a schedule for yourself that can truly make a difference.
Location, Location, Location
Pictured above: me writing this article at a coffee shop.
Perhaps the single biggest factor dictating my energy levels – location.
Tracking whether I was at a coffee shop or not revealed something I always kind of knew, but not really. Coffee shops are a total game-changer for me!
Good news for my productivity, bad news for my wallet.
Now, you may hate coffee shops. Totally fair. But have you tried working at a library? Or a coworking space? Maybe a different area of the office?
For me, I found that the longer I stayed in my home office, the lower my energy levels got. I need to move about throughout the day to maintain my energy.
And now I know the numbers behind it – I can spend about three hours in my home office before I need to find a new spot.
And coffee shops are the best for me! I love the smell of fresh-ground coffee, the bustle of people working around me, and the occasional dog walking in.
Actionable Step
The longer we sit in one spot, the more our attention wanes. There’s science behind this, too – check out this Business Insider article on the topic.
Try moving locations every few hours.
Even just to a different room in the office, or a different chair in the same room.
And if you feel like making the jump, get a standing desk! Here’s the one I have and love. If you want something a little more economical, I’ve head good things about Flexispot.
I find myself standing up and sitting back down dozens of times throughout the day, and it’s made a huge difference for me. I oughta get one of those treadmill things too.
Anyway – just try moving around. Pick out a few spots that might work for you, and try to mix up what I call the “hustle factor.” Here’s what I mean:
Coffee shops: high hustle factor. Libraries: medium hustle factor. Home office: low hustle factor.
It’s all about the level of energy around you. Find out what’s best for you.
Try it yourself!
Click here to check out my free Google Sheets template to try this experiment yourself.
Got any friends who might benefit from this too? Share the knowledge!
And get in touch with me with your results. I’d love to hear how your experiment went.
