What Is Chronoworking? Why Do You Need to Align Your Internal Clock With Your Schedule to Maximize Productivity?

What Is Chronoworking? Why Do You Need to Align Your Internal Clock With Your Schedule To Maximize Productivity?
(Photo: Pexels/Peter Olexa)

Chronoworking plays a huge role in one's productivity. You should familiarize yourself with your body and align your chronotype with your schedule to maximize your effectiveness at work or in anything else.

What Is Chronoworking and How It Boosts Productivity?

James Leinhardt, founder of mattress technology company Levitex, discusses what happens when one's natural body clock is not in sync with one's schedule. According to him, one will miss their most productive hours, and tasks will take longer because "you're likely to feel more tired." Aside from that, one might run out of creativity juices.

He shared how their team members work at different hours to clarify his point. They work when they are most productive. For instance, his colleague Karolina will not accept phone calls until after 1 p.m. because she works until 3 a.m. For Leinhardt, that's not an issue as long as she completes her working hours and her creative juices are flowing during her work hours. He added that some team members work 8 a.m. because they have kids, and others don't want to accept calls until lunchtime.

Chronoworking is when one aligns their internal clock with their working day. Unfortunately, no tall companies or bosses are as flexible as Leinhardt.

Leinhardt advised maximizing your productive hours if you're fortunate enough to have them during the workday. To really make the most of the times when you feel most productive, it might be a good idea to plan low-brain-energy chores for when you're not feeling productive. Some individuals discover that their optimal time varies daily; in such cases, it's crucial to pay attention to your body's cues.

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What's Your Chronotype?

A chronotype is a categorization scheme designed to explain sleep and work routines, including peak activity and alert times throughout the day. Although the precise cause of your chronotype is still unknown, experts, including sleep coach Alex Savy, agree that it is largely hereditary "courtesy of the PER3 gene that defines one's circadian patterns."

Here are the four chronotypes:

Bears

Bears are most productive in the morning and become lethargic after lunch. Consider their productivity as a bell curve, with a dramatic decrease at the end of the day and a low beginning. It's recommended that bears try to get gently into and out of the day. For a bear, midmorning is the ideal time to organize crucial appointments; everything after lunch should be simpler activities requiring less originality and effort.

Wolves

Wolves should avoid booking crucial meetings too early, such as creative briefs and high-stakes pitches. With a peak later in the day, this group takes a bit to wake up and get rolling. Wolf productivity peaks in the late afternoon and early evening.

Since this isn't always feasible throughout the workweek, wolves must make time to break up their days. One way to do this is by taking short walks to refuel between jobs. If feasible, try to complete your most challenging assignments after supper, when your creativity is at its highest.

Lions

The morning chronotype is lions. Lions can easily sleep through the night and get up early enough to have the energy and time to take care of any pressing matters first thing in the morning. If this describes you, it is imperative that you do any urgent work in the morning and, if at all possible, steer clear of large gatherings in the late afternoon.

A lion is never truly off; if it is, it doesn't last long. For those in this category, getting a full night's sleep is essential, as is sticking to a bedtime routine every night to let your body know when it's time to go to sleep to maintain energy levels later in the day.

Dolphins

Dolphins are best suited to learn how to conquer one task at a time. For people with this chronotype, starting the day with easy activities can let the brain warm up and prepare for more complex work. Because a dolphin type's mind is constantly active, it can be challenging to determine the best times to work.

A dolphin's creative sparks might appear anytime during the day, so it's critical to seize them. This kind tends to have trouble falling asleep, so when it's time for bed, they should relax and avoid anything that can impede them from sleeping.