Comments on: Achieve More – Find your Natural Rhythm

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:57:00 +0000

Belinda – scary stuff. Getting rid of caffeine for good? I admire you for kicking your java habit – I’ve certainly cut down from my days in the corporate world where I was a 3 latte a day guy. I have even started drinking Camomile tea in the afternoons and evenings to try and manage my energy levels. I’m reading Time, a User’s Guide by Joseph Klein at the moment and it reckons that our circadian rhythms are almost impossible to change. The key is understanding them and learning to live with them. I’ll take your lead though and experiment with cutting out the joe!

By: Belinda Munoz

Belinda Munoz — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:42:46 +0000

Hi Phil, I really enjoyed your humor in this piece and the content is very insightful.

It\’s interesting that you bring up coffee in this post. When I was a coffee drinker (from lattes to espressos), I often needed a sugar pick-me-up in the afternoon. Now, as a tea drinker, I find my energy level is less erratic and I don\’t crave sweets nearly as much. Which makes me wonder what would happen if I switched to water and got rid of caffeine for good…

By: Phil

Phil — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:42:35 +0000

Giulietta – I’m not surprised at all – you certainly don’t worry about convention. It is so lovely to be able to live in tune with our bodies and use the natural energy we all have. Keep doing amazing things.

Phil

By: Phil

Phil — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:41:24 +0000

Nanette – Thanks so much for your post and reading LOL. It is so frustrating to me when I waste my high energy times doing things that are unproductive. I know that the afternoon black hole void will come up. However filling that void with calls and meetings has shifted this and now I can feel productive throughout my day. Keep experimenting to find a rhythm that works for you.

Phil

By: Phil

Phil — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:39:26 +0000

Laura –

Thanks for your contribution. It is clear that you’ve adapted your patterns to fit with your life and that is excellent. Coffee is a pretty magic thing for doing that! I love a skinny no-foam latte (used to live in California for 5 years, so I also apologise for that). In the morning though it is cafetiere, strong with a dash of milk and sugar. Please keep reading and responding.

Phil

By: Julia Lindsey

Julia Lindsey — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:17:09 +0000

I have just recently started to plan my day according to my patterns. For years I woke up between 4 and 5 am but stayed in bed becauese I thought it was to early to get up. I finally realized that my peak hours were from 5-6(after coffee). I always hit a low at 3pm so I take a cherished nap.
Julia Lindsey´s last blog ..How To Build a Website For Your Book

By: Laura Sheman

Laura Sheman — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:50:58 +0000

Yes, that one cup of coffee first thing in the morning is a wonderfully blissful thing. Magic in a cup, isn’t it?

My schedule completely changed after kids. I remember a time when 11am was waaaaaay too early for me and 2am was such a glorious time to be productive.

Now, it is completely reversed. I am best in the morning now and have that lull mid afternoon pretty traditionally.

It is good advice to track with this and know what to schedule for when. Thanks!

BTW, how do you take your coffee in the morning? I like half and half with maple syrup or honey.
Laura Sheman´s last blog ..If You Love to Write, Write!

By: Nanette Levin

Nanette Levin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:36:20 +0000

Phil,

Thank you for this useful post. I know better, but so often I spend high energy time doing tasks that are not very important. Honestly, it never occured to me to schedule phone calls for these lower energy times (something I generally put off more than I should) and like this idea.

Oddly, my high energy times seem to be early morning through mid-afternoon (and I’m not a morning person, per se) and then the second wind hits around 6 p.m. (which is a great time to do client strategic work and writing because the phones aren’t ringing). Now I really need to think about how I am spending my afternoons.

By: giulietta

giulietta — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:44:26 +0000

Phil, Quite an interesting post! I definitely can see my energy pattern now that you mention it. I prefer to do most of my work in the late afternoon or evening. Conventional work hours never fit into my natural rhythms.

giulietta
giulietta´s last blog ..Falling down the rabbit hole