Ep. 119 - Energy Management: Learn Your Chronobiology

We are going to start a mini series this month all about energy management. In this episode we will begin by looking at chronobiology and how to maximize our productivity based on our own biological rhythms. Whether you're looking to boost your energy, enhance focus, or simply feel more in tune with your natural rhythm, this episode is a great place to start to learn how to harness the power of your body’s internal clock for a healthier, happier, and more productive life!

Transcript

The number one topic I hear the most when I’m out talking to groups and individuals is exhaustion. The various conversations seem to center on this common theme under different names sometimes, like – time management, fatigue, burnout, productivity, energy. However we label it, our collective batteries are low. And there are no super chargers for our brains and bodies.   

As smart, busy people, we are on the lookout for tools, tips, and techniques on how to manage…well, everything. The Bottom Line on Top of this episode is that managing our time starts with managing our energy. 

In my years of speaking and training around the world and in my own personal experimentation, I’ve dug into recent research & theories about how managing energy is the key to minimizing exhaustion. 

Time is a fixed asset, whereas energy is variable. In this spirit, the next few episodes will center on energy management as a personalized productivity lever that you can learn to manage and adjust, when and as needed. 

If we humans were designed as high-tech tools, our habits and routines would be the software but our core operating system, that is our hardware. We can install software updates as we learn and refine our behaviors, but starting with the factory settings of our hardware is the key to unlocking that energy within us.   

Today’s topic revisits the concept of chronobiology, which was first outlined in episode 4 about Why When Matters. 

Chronobiology is the branch of biology concerned with natural physiological and biological rhythms. Think of it as your body’s natural preferences for when you’re most inclined to eat, sleep, exercise, and produce-that means according to your own clock, not a schedule of other people. 

You already instinctively know this concept and have been adjusting your own energy for years (and years) as the world only got busier and busier. So, below is an excerpt from episode 4 highlighting the key concepts of why when matters and how it can benefit you. 

The concept is around understanding your natural inclination, as I’ve already said, for different activities and how that can change over the course of your day. And knowing your chronotype is the start. 

A lot of framing in this space is usually centered on whether somebody considers themselves to be an early bird, a mid-morning person, or a night owl. Now those are all colloquial terms. But really, it just means are you more inclined to be up and going earlier in the day or are you more focused and active later in the day. 

We'll walk through a little bit of each of those. And then we can start thinking about what that means for you and how you experience it. And some of the social overlay of how we've been conditioned to adapt to our days. 

For a lot of us (up to 80% of people) are typically in the morning category, either really early birds or people who get going more mid-morning. That means that they are more productive typically in the first part of their day. These morning-oriented people, you're going to hit your most productive time about three hours after you wake up. 

Now, I'm going to pause right here and say in our digital age when we wake up can mean a lot of things. For some people, especially when we're talking about doing fewer things better, it's not just activating the brain, it's really that mind-body connection. 

So if you're the type of person who wakes up, maybe it's because your phone went off next to you as your alarm, and you grab that same device and you start activating your brain by opening up emails and apps and text messages before you even getting out of bed, before your feet have even hit the floor, you are actually altering the course of your chronobiology. 

One of the best things that you can do if you're looking to boost your productivity is to physically get out of bed when you wake up. Don't worry, you can take your device and go sit in a nearby chair. But your body needs to know that you've woken up before your brain does. 

So physically getting out of bed is super important. And this also applies late at night, too. For those of you who say, "I went to bed at this time" - but really there’s a lot of technology in between when you got into the bed and you actually fell asleep, that’s important, too, for altering those biorhythms. 

But coming back to the stages of the day, if you are morning inclined, and we will definitely talk about you night owls, don’t you worry. If you're morning inclined, you're going to feel more productive about three hours after you wake up. So think about if that clicks in with you. 

This stage is known as your peak, that's when you're going to likely be in your best mood, you're going to have the most amount of energy, you're probably going to be a lot more focused, you can concentrate and maybe tackle larger things or take on multiple tasks.

Well, you're also gonna see, if you're in the morning group, the next stage that you're gonna move to is about seven hours after you woke up. This is called your trough— TROUGH. It's where you're going to see a major drop in your mood and your performance. 

A few hours after the trough comes the recovery. That's where you get a rise in your mood, not necessarily as high as when you were in your peak but you're definitely more creative, you're more inclined to be social, collaborative, maybe you can go back and finish something you started earlier in the day. 

You’re probably good at editing, reviewing work from other people, whatever that means to you, you're gonna find that more in your late afternoon or into early evening. That is your recovery. That’s usually in that cycle of your day if you’re in that 80% that tends to be morning oriented. 

Now, for the night owls. You're going to go through the same stages, you’re just going to go through them in a different order or at different times. Typically, because of academia and professional settings, people who are natural night owls have been conditioned to be more early oriented, because that’s when schools would start or jobs would start if you weren't in control of your shifts. 

That doesn't mean that night owls can't be productive within their roles or within their schooling. It just means that they have different preferences for it. So typically, they might be waking up and coming into the stage of their trough. That's within their first few hours of waking up. 

Now, they can show up for those early morning meetings or shifts or classes. They may not be at their maximum peak performance. They're likely then going to move into their recovery. And that's where you’re going to see them crossing over with a lot of those early birds. They’re going to be able to be collaborative, do some brainstorming. Again, they may not be at their full peak – that’s going to come later in the day – but they are going to be able to pull up and focus. They’re not going to be as inclined to be interrupted or the rest of it. 

A very interesting thing that these studies have shown is that night owls tend to be able to extend their focus longer than early birds & it’s because they’ve been more cognitively ambidextrous. They’ve almost had to be. They’ve been showing up & living in this early bird world for so long that they have those skill sets to do it. 

And it’s important to note that the studies of chronobiology aren’t proposing that any one type is better than the other. It is purely reflecting on our different wiring, but it's also important to note that time isn't always in our control. But a lot can be. 

Once we understand this foundation of how we are wired, then it is up to us to bring forward the conversations and self-advocacy, whenever possible, and see, hey, can any adjustments be made here? Maybe not every day, but more often than not?

Also it’s important to learn about this in terms of how it interacts with other people in our lives. To help understand is there a reason why my child struggles doing homework during this time? When is the right time to approach my partner about this topic? 

And what are the elements, especially if we're doing professional settings and collaborative work, to understand (and considering globalization, neurodiversity, and the other elements there) how can we give consideration and courtesy and get back collaboration and output? 

Start considering and taking note of where things seem easier for you during the day and where they don't. That's important information because, again, not all days are alike. But you might start to see a sense of the rhythm. 

And wherever possible, protect your peak. Really be looking after your calendar to get that sense of where you’re able to amplify what you're doing. 

Be thoughtful of, especially when you're in your trough, a little hydration, a little movement and see how you can come out of that trough or go through it a little more smoothly. 

Take note of your preferences, your obstacles, and your environment. This helps set the foundation for you to amplify your actions and ultimately find you're able to do fewer things better and faster -- that’s the goal.