Skip to main content

3 simple and practical tips on how to structure your day for success


When was the last time you considered how you design your daily activities?
Take a moment to think about the structure of your day.

Three simple and practical tips based on research that could help you optimize your efforts and be a happier designer will be discussed. 
One of the theoretical points of design is to intentionally shape something towards a better outcome than if it was to shape itself.
As a web designer, you do this every day on behalf of your clients and users.
It’s easy to forget that design isn’t a narrow concept. We can take the principles of intentionality and apply them in other areas of our lives. What better to be intentional about than your time?
Before we go any further, let’s lay down this simple truth: when your day is designed well, everyone benefits.
We are not talking about taking superfluous breaks and working five hours a week in your full-time job. We’re talking about creating a flow in your day that matches the way your brain works.
When you take time to align your efforts with the way your brain works, the output of your efforts is enhanced. Your ability to achieve things like “flow state” increases. This results in better work, higher productivity, higher satisfaction, and ultimately holistic health benefits.
If your goal is to try to “hack” your time and work less, this article isn’t for you. If instead your goal is to work smarter, read on.
In Daniel Pink’s new book “When”, he outlines a summary of a large collection of research that essentially establishes a strong argument for a common rhythm for human performance and mood.

 Essentially, the average person will go through a three-stage process in their day: a peak, a trough, and a recovery.
Depending on how you are wired, you may experience this in the opposite direction (recovery, trough, and then peak). For most people, the peak is in the morning, trough is after lunch, and the recovery is in the late afternoon into the evening. If you happen to wake up a bit later and consider yourself a night owl, you might be in the group that experiences the “recovery” period in the morning.
So why does this matter? What do these stages mean to my work?
  • In your peak hours, you are much more engaged to do intensive work. This is work that requires a lot of thinking and active processing, and the willpower to reject interruptions and distractions.
  • In your trough hours, you should be careful with making decisions. This would be a good time to do repetitive or administrative work.
  • In your recovery hours, your ability to think creatively is actually enhanced, as your inhibitions are lowered. Distraction is more likely to occur, so more creative input and brainstorming is suited for this period.

 Just knowing this, you can structure your day as a designer. Assuming you follow the average curve of peak hours in the morning, your day may look like this:
08:00-11:30: Two or three sessions of deep, focused, solitary work. Coding that requires a lot of thinking is particularly well suited for this period. Technical learning is also well suited for this period.
11:30-12:45: Get out of the office or out of the house for a solid lunch break (justification for this is also covered in Pink’s book.)

12:45-15:30: Building out templates, tracking time, checking emails, managing time sheets or schedules, internal meetings, cleaning and budgeting work. If you have the flexibility, consider taking an hour or two to run errands during this period.
15:30-18:30: Client meetings, brainstorming, and planning meetings for new initiatives, interviews, and inspirational research.
You’ll notice that this doesn’t really look like a typical 9-to-5. Part of the reason for this is that your brain doesn’t really care about 9-to-5, which leads us to our second point...
The physiological side of your brain doesn’t really care what the clock says. The 9-to-5 schedule was never based on knowledge work or optimizing based on neuroscience. So, why do we continue to let it dictate our working habits?
If your brain is most creative at 17:15 in the afternoon, doesn’t it make the most sense to take advantage of that fact?
By no means does this require that you throw away your schedule entirely. Rather, consider what ways you can shift your schedule around. Do you normally go to the gym after work? Perhaps it’s time to swap that time for post-lunch.
For web designers, this kind of flexibility is often more attainable than in other careers. Take advantage of this likelihood.
If you are most creative at sunrise, maybe coming in early for a few hours and then taking a mid-day break is the best strategy for both you and the company you work with.

This is even more true for freelancers.
Imagine the most ideal schedule you can based on these realities. What can you do today to take advantage of your brain’s physiology, even if you don’t upend your schedule? Maybe it’s a simple rearrangement of tasks, or maybe it’s a total redesign from the ground up.
One thing is for sure: if you restrict yourself to a single timebox of working hours, you likely won’t be able to take advantage of the way your brain naturally works.
You wash your hair and hands, you brush your teeth, and you change into new clothes each day because you understand the importance of hygiene.
You probably have heard things like “digital detox” circulating. But for most young developers and designers, it is all too easy to ignore these kinds of digital abstinence habits; our work revolves around the digital space.
The truth is, our brains aren’t wired to work in consistent solid blocks. In fact, they aren’t wired to do anything in solid blocks for very long.
Instead, we’re wired to do things in cycles, with regular rest intervals and effort intervals.
Let’s explaine why this makes sense.
Imagine that your active learning and working process is like bringing groceries in in bags. Typically, if you’re like most people, you’re going to bring all the groceries in and put the bags on your counter.
That isn’t the only part of putting the groceries away; it is merely the first step. Once you’ve completed that work, then you need to assimilate those groceries into your cabinets.
You may have to evaluate where they fit, and what to throw away to make space for these new groceries.
This is kind of how your brain works. As you learn, and as you work, your brain is actively involved in making cognitive connections in your conscious mind.
However, once that work is done, your brain needs to assimilate the new information into longer term storage, and associate that information with other things you already know.
When does this happen? When you are taking a break. Most effectively, this happens when you are resting, especially while sleeping.
In order to take effective breaks, limit your break-time activity to the following:
  • Positive socializing. Don’t gossip or vent during your break. Talk about the positive life events with other people.
  • Get outside. If you can get into nature, research shows much more effective post-break work as a correlated result.
  • Meditation. Take a moment to quiet your mind and ground yourself in your present situation. This will help trigger your brain and body’s relaxation mechanisms.
  • Take a walk. “Get the blood flowing” isn’t just a catchphrase, it actually works! Exercise has well established mental benefits (beyond the more obvious physical benefits).

There are plenty of reasons we don’t do these things today. Our work cultures and habits are very difficult to change. However, it takes the first person making one small change to shift the tide.
Start by making one new positive habit that takes advantage of a new day-design. Use your free time, like weekend days, to structure your activities in ways that best utilize your natural way of thriving.
If nothing else, experimenting with new ways of working and thinking will provide variety and novelty in your day-to-day, and may help break up your monotonous cycles.

Comments

You may also want to read these ⤵️

Referee kills player in a football match

A referee is facing murder charges after football players allegedly forced him to

Do not watch this while driving

Kids are lovely and fun to watch most times. I know most of you did this and so many other funny stuffs as a kid. Feel free to share yours... Do not watch this while driving

The Pros and Cons Of COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps

                Written by                Jack -  Guest author Contact tracing apps seem to be the new fad. Their popularity is also one that comes on the back of a series of unfortunate events. They seem to hold another approach to fighting the menace of a disease that has claimed no less than 400,000 lives worldwide. The widespread race to get these apps working can also be attributed to the coming together of two big names in tech, Apple and Google, to make the frameworks for such apps happen. Like every other thing, though, how does the scales tip in favor of, or against, these apps? The Case for Contact Tracing Apps In April alone, the US people lost more jobs than the economy had been able to gain in about a combined decade. More unemployment claims are filed daily, while companies do not take their staff out of furlough anytime soon. Businesses are folding up daily, too, especially those still p...

Over 40 Million Accounts Found Guilty

Microsoft has uncovered 44 million user accounts using usernames and passwords that have been leaked through security breaches.

RAW TALENT ep1 (freestyle by Gdlpeid)

Just watch! Freestyle by ''Gdlpeeid''. A rapper with a difference.  Pure raw talent.

These 10 Powerful Words And Phrases Defined The Decade

Honestly, it has been a wonderful decade to remember.  A lot has happened and a lot has been spoken also. But our focus is on the words and phrases spoken.  Below are words and phrases spoken between 2010 - 2019 that defined the decade.....

By February 2020 - WhatsApp Will Stop Working on These Phones

Every now and then, WhatsApp does fish out a list of old phones for which support is discontinued and if you have an old phone lying around as a backup, you might want to read on.

Apple Has Released iOS 13.2.2 And Fixes Major Issue

All thanks to Apple,  the tech  giant just released iOS 13.2.2, which addresses the issue of background apps being killed prematurely, along with a handful of other annoyances.

This Magnetic thread Can Be Used To Clear Blood Clot in The Brain

Link from mashable.com  Researchers at MIT developed a thread that can be steered magnetically to glide through the brain's blood vessels and

This gigantic monster device turns wave energy into electricity

This 826-ton buoy was developed by OceanEnergy to turn wave energy into electricity. IEEE Spectrum reported that "OE Buoy" was towed from Oregon to Hawaii, where it will undergo a series of tests that will prove whether it can withstand the battering waves while generating electricity. Click the link below to watch the video..