Innovation expert reveals most effective way to structure a work day

Are you a lark, an owl or a middle bird? Discovering when you work most productively can have a dramatic impact on your performance - and your career.

Work days should not be seen as “one size fits all”, as workers hit peak performance at different times depending on their “chronotype”.

They can maximise productivity by scheduling certain tasks for the morning or afternoon and by putting aside time for unexpected workloads.

Dr Amantha Imber, chief executive of innovation consultancy Inventium and host of the How I Workpodcast, says most people give little thought to how they schedule tasks.

“Our days are designed reactively – we let people schedule meetings in our diary, we check emails constantly throughout the day and let other people’s requests control what we do,” she said.

“Then we reach the end of the day and ask ourselves: ‘What did I actually achieve today?’.”

Dr Amantha Imber says workers should tailor their day to their chronotype. Picture: Supplied

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Dr Imber advised workers to tailor their work day to suit their chronotype.

“Around 14 per cent of the population are what researchers refer to as Larks – stereotypical morning people,” she said. “At the other end of the spectrum are Owls, who represent another 21 per cent of the population.

“Owls have their peak productivity after most of us have had dinner and, quite often, well into the night.

“If you can’t relate to either extreme, you are probably a Middle Bird.”

Dr Imber said Larks were most productive when they started work at 6am while Owls should start around lunch time.

She recommended scheduling “deep work” – cognitively-demanding work that requires focus and a lack of interruption – at their peak time and save “shallow work” such as checking emails and administrative work for when their brain needs a rest.

“Digital distractions and interruptions are rife in today’s working world so most of us spend our days in shallow work and try to fit the deep work in amongst it,” Dr Imber said.

“But it needs to be the other way around if we are to accomplish anything of value and make meaningful progress.”

KWP! chief executive David O’Loughlin blocks off a portion of his day for unexpected issues and opportunities. Picture: Tait Schmaal

New research from the AMP Foundation, released for the 2019 launch of its Tomorrow Fund which awards $1 million in grants to people doing positive work in the community, revealed almost one in five workers (18 per cent) were most productive and inspired at about 10am.

The beginning of the week was also favoured, with Monday and Tuesday the most productive work day for 22 per cent and 19 per cent of workers, respectively.

KWP! group managing director David O’Loughlin said structure and organisation were vital in his role leading and managing the executive team at the communication and marketing company.

He said structure became more important when he reached executive level.

“Pressure on your available time just gets greater,” he said.

“I seek to manage my day, and not let my day manage me. As an executive, I need to make decisions quickly and decisively, but not under unnecessary pressure.”

Mr O’Loughlin said he made a habit of locking off a block of 90 minutes each day to deal with unexpected issues and opportunities.

“Time is so valuable, but having time to think clearly in an otherwise hectic environment is even more valuable,” he said.

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