How to Be More Effective Every Day: 8 Tips to Mindfully Schedule Your Day to Maximize Your Effectiveness by Kelli Porcaro

So often I find myself scheduling my day on a first come, first serve basis. According to David Rock’s book, Your Brain At Work, using this approach may not maximize my effectiveness with all that I do! Rock suggests these eight tips:

• DO get things out of your head and down on paper.

• DO pay attention to your mental energy throughout the day and schedule accordingly. Experiment with best times of day for different types of work like creative writing, meetings and routine tasks.

• DO schedule the tasks that require the greatest amount of your attention and energy when you are most fresh and alert, like deep thinking, abstract thinking and analytical thinking.

• DON’T respond to things as they occur. Oftentimes, things like email can wait for a time when you need a break from deep thinking.

• DON’T try to knock out a bunch of little routine tasks to get them out of the way when you are feeling most rested and energized.

• DON’T get distracted by non-urgent matters.

• DO delegate what you can.

• The pre-frontal cortex, where decisions and problems are solved, tires from use and is more effective after a good rest!

What is your best time of day??

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