It’s 7 a.m. on a Sunday morning. The coffee is hot, the dogs and I have taken a 3-mile walk, I have finished a load of laundry, a load of dishes, and started payroll. Shortly, I will wake my family to get ready for church. By 8 p.m. I will turn off the lights and fall quickly to sleep. My spouse will just be beginning his work of paying bills, organizing our clients for the busy work week that lies ahead, and working on continuing education classes.
In graduate school, I much preferred to go to bed early and wake at 3 a.m. to study for an exam. My brain is on fire in the mornings; I feel like I can conquer the world. By evening, I am likely to have a child-like melt down if you ask me to do anything related to work.
In my informal survey of the couples I know, I have found that typically one partner is the night owl while the other is a morning person. This marriage of opposite circadian rhythms has numerous benefits. When our teens were little, my husband was more than happy to take the 10 or 11 p.m. feedings while I had no problem doing the 4 a.m. diaper changes. Now, my husband is more than happy to make the 10 p.m. run to pick up our son from a friend’s home. I will likely never know if my kids make home it for curfew or not.
The opposite schedules attract model works well in business, too. I excel at morning meetings and vendor negotiation phone calls conducted with businesses in later time zones while chimney technician issues at 6 p.m. and webinars at 7 p.m. are gladly conducted by my husband.
By resisting the fight with your internal clock, you will find your stress will decrease, thereby increasing your health and mental well-being. Is this easy to consistently achieve in our fast-paced always “on” society? No, it isn’t, but working with your inner clock most of the time is still an achievement for which you will reap rewards. First, find out what times of day you function at peak performance. You can start by keeping a journal of how you feel at the different hours of the day. Next, pick one day a week to schedule all the “must do’s” you can during your most energetic six hours of the day. Lastly, re-charge during your least energetic four hours of the day. If you’re a morning person like I am, this can mean going to bed earlier, watching your favorite show on Netflix, or catching up on your leisure reading. You will be surprised at the results that can make you 2-3 times more productive. Let me know in the comments what skills you use to maximize your peak performance times.
Brandi Biswell, RN, MSN, is a mom, certified chimney sweep, small business owner, and a CVC Success Group instructor based in the Kansas City metro area. Her passion is helping other women and small businesses excel in their day-to- day operations while balancing career and personal lives. She can be reached at brandi@cvccoaching.com. and is available to provide consulting on a one -on-one basis for your business.
Written by Brandi Biswell, CVC Instructor
Edited by Sarah E Perkins