Do you know what your natural energy pattern is?  Have you ever noticed that there are certain times of the day when you accomplish more, with less effort, than other times?  Or maybe you have referred to yourself as either a morning person or a night person.  How much better would your quality of life be if you could identify your natural energy patterns and tailor your schedule to match?  The great thing about this is it’s something you can do for yourself.  No expensive books, programs or tools required!

When I was doing some research for this article, I read that our internal body clocks are largely determined by our genes, by as much as 50%.  To me, as a night owl, it was a bit of a relief to know that.  The way I am is the way I was meant to be!  Ah, validation.  I think this little tid-bit of information is important to keep in mind when trying to mesh schedules with someone of the opposite “body clock” or energy-cycle. 

Most of us know whether we are morning people or night people (larks or owls), but what we might not have paid attention to is at what times of the day are we highly energized or experiencing lower energy.  Without knowing our natural energy pattern, we can end up fighting ourselves to accomplish our daily tasks.  It’s easy to find out, and once you do, you can then adjust your work to match your energy pattern.

1. Tonight, before going to sleep, take a piece of paper and write down the time you plan to wake up tomorrow, then below, various times of the day when you will “check-point” how you feel. Most people find that from 10am on, about every 2 hours provides convenient times to make notes.

2. Tomorrow, upon rising, make a note of what time it is and how you feel energy wise.

3. Throughout the day, make a note of how your energy is going.                      

a. Pay attention to your ability to focus, concentrate, and complete tasks.

b. Are there times when people talking, music playing or certain activities are tolerated better or worse?

4. If you find that you have exceptionally high or low energy, make a note. If you can tie how you feel to food or beverage you have had, healthy or not, note it down.

5. After your last “energy” notation, look over the list and highlight when you were at your most energetic, and when you were at your least.

6. Spend some time observing how your energy pattern varies. Now, think about the tasks you perform during your high energy and your low energy periods. What should you change? How can you tap into your natural energy pattern to get the most out of yourself with all that you need to do?

Once you become more aware of your natural energy patterns, you’ll be amazed at how much better you will feel throughout the day.  Knowing when to match the right task with the right energy level will in itself prove to be energizing!

Finding how to make the most of my time and energy is something I have always been interested by.  The more streamlined I can make my day, the easier it is to make time for my hobbies and new interest…that being, working on building my website.  I can’t tell you what it is yet…that’s a secret, but I can tell you that without all I have learned from SBI!, better known as Site Build It!, I would not have even known how to get started!  By knowing and using my natural energy patterns, who knows what all I will have time to achieve?  So, what will you achieve?