3 tips for making good use of your prime times

When are your prime times? What are the times of the day when you have most energy? When do you feel most creative? Here are three tips for making good use of such times.

* You can clarify your prime times.

“Now I can identify my peaks and troughs during the day,” said one marketing manager. “My best time is between 8.00 and 11.30 in the morning. I dip during the afternoon, but then come alive again at 9.00 pm. Previously I used to berate myself for ‘not being creative’ during those downtimes, but then I learned to follow these natural rhythms.”

Energy is life. Sometimes we have lots of energy, sometimes we feel drained. Sometimes we need to rest and recover to become revitalised. Are you at your best in the morning, the afternoon, the evening - or a combination of these times? Try completing the following sentence that invites you to identify your prime times.

The times of the day when I have most energy – my prime times – are:

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* You can make good use of your prime times.

“I became very protective of those times,” said the marketing manager. “But I faced a dilemma. My desk is located in an open plan office, but I find it difficult to do creative work in the midst of such activity. So now I get into the office at 7.30 am and leave a note about my whereabouts in case of emergency. Then I spend the first hour by myself doing creative work in a ‘cave'. Sometimes I am interrupted by urgent requests, but frequently it is my most productive part of the day. I have also asked my team members to let everybody know their prime times. Whilst we must all aim to be professional at all times, it is good to know when individual people are at their best.”

Rollo May, the American existentialist psychologist, believed people could become more effective by identifying and making good use of such times. Writing in the first edition of The Ageless Spirit, he explained:

"I stay in my studio each day for four hours, but the last hour and a half isn't worth very much. It was hard for me to accept, but what can I do? All I can do is make the most of the creative time I've got. So for two and a half hours I'm moving marvellously; the rest of the time I'm simply fiddling around. But I find joy in fiddling too. I have to accept the fact that I'm not a God. I have to accept my destiny. I have to accept the fact that I can only do creative work for a few hours a day, but that does not diminish one iota the joy I get from those two hours."

Rollo May believed it was important to ‘catch the wave’ - otherwise it was gone forever. How can you do this in your own way? Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to make good use of my prime times are:

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* You can get into the habit of capitalising on your prime times.

Peak performers develop good habits - which includes making good use of their best times. “But that is so difficult,” somebody may say, “especially when other people are interrupting your rhythm.” Agreed, but the alternative is to allow those golden times to disappear into thin air. The key is to develop a creative rhythm. Develop a pattern of protecting and using those hours, even if it is only twice a week. Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to develop the habit of capitalising on my prime times are:

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Capitalising on your prime times helps to channel your positive energy. You are then more likely to perform great work.