When Not To Do The Hardest Things First

While the adage do the hardest things first has merit and is useful to counter procrastination, it doesn't make sense to do high concentration/hard things, first up in the day if our energy is low. The adage should be re-written: do the hardest things when your energy is in its peak zone.

The set hours for one of my client's employees was 8 am - 4 pm but the person struggled to get going until around 10 am. I suggested that if the person wasn't required first thing in the day their hours could be changed from 10 am - 6 pm. The employee was extremely happy with the suggestion with both they, and the business, winning from the time shift.

Aligning our tasks—according to the degree of difficulty and demand on us—to the rise and fall of our energies creates higher productivity than if we treat all hours the same. Seek to do your easier mundane tasks in the troughs and your most demanding work in the peaks.

Photo by Vivek Sharma