MY IDEAL ROUTINE
Break out the color Sharpies! You’re going to map out the best times to do different kinds of things — all based on your own energy ebb and flow. Think of this as a blueprint for how you’d like to structure your activities in a day. Then tailor your daily schedule on this as much as you can to see more productive results.
A.M.

Live better every day

Each work category is defined and color-coded below. Color in the charts with the kind of work that suits your rhythm at different times of the day — but only use the categories that apply. This is all about you.

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Immersive work is complex thinking that requires high alertness, working memory, and immersion. Writing, designing, strategizing, researching, creating reports or proposals, and critical analysis are examples of immersive tasks. Reactive work takes concentration, but not immersion or creativity. It might involve email responses, logistics, phone calls, memos. Routine work gets embedded in our brains through practice so we do them successfully without having to think too much about them. Examples include organizing, digital housekeeping, routine reports, bill paying.

Practice work builds the muscle memory, neural pathways, and concentration required to play instruments or sports, learn languages, and pick up others skills that require a level of automation. It can be immersive work, depending on the level of challenge. Interactive work includes collaborative projects, brainstorming, social media engagement, or negotiations. It requires energized patience and empathy muscles. Physical activity requires strength and coordination. Tasks can range from challenging exercise or physical labor to routine housekeeping that relies mostly on muscle memory.

Free-floating creative improvisation is what your brain does when the pressure’s off. Research shows that creative insights can come out of nowhere when our brains are relaxed — like that homestretch before bedtime when we’re beginning to shut down. Buffer time recharges you. Activities like eating, meditating, a few rounds of Candy Crush, playing with your puppy, watching your favorite show, or simple daydreaming are as important to your brain and body as other kinds of work are to your day job. Sleep is work, too, because without adequate rest, you won’t be at your best.

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