Your eyes shine. You yawn, blinking to refocus on the screen. And even though your to-do list app shows 43 unfinished tasks in eye-catching red, you're scrolling through Facebook without actually registering what you're looking at. You fall into a fuzzy downward spiral that could last all afternoon.
Unless you get out of it.
We're not supposed to be constantly productive all day because we're humans, not machines. But this problem, the one that sets in at 2 p.m. every day is the one that affects you for more than 15 hours a week.
In short, it's serious. If you don't take steps around this problem, you'll end up missing your deadlines, abandoning projects, and piling up urgent tasks that get in the way of your long-term goals.
Here's why your motivation and productivity take a huge hit in the afternoon and how to avoid doldrums.
Related: Why are you always tired
1. You don't want to start a demanding task that you won't be able to complete.
Different tasks require different levels of mental energy. After 2 p.m., when you feel tired, it makes sense that you have a natural aversion to starting tasks that will strain your ability to concentrate.
Brian Tracy, author of Eat That Frog , explains that you must perform the most important and demanding task as the first order of business:"The key to achieving high levels of performance and productivity is to develop the lifelong habit of tackling your task. main every morning.”
Once that dreaded task is out of the way, it won't matter as much if you're too spread out to write a price essay or process a few thousand rows of data – you're already way ahead.
The Solution:
Know that it's normal that you can't work at peak efficiency all day. Instead, work on soft projects. Soft projects are robotic, rewarding tasks that don't need insane levels of concentration but set you up properly for the next work day. For example:
Treat your inbox. On average, employees spend 13 hours a week in their inbox. If email isn't handled properly, it's a lot exposure to a disturbing environment. Use the Do, Delegate, Defer, Delete, File method to take quick action on every email and hit the blissful zero inbox in time for tomorrow morning.
Tidy up your workspace. Surviving the afternoon is a matter of willpower. Researcher Kathleen Vohs found that a tidy desk is more likely to help you focus on what you're supposed to do and not get distracted. It is therefore worth spending time organizing your personal space, as it will be reflected in your work.
2. You're crashing with low (or high) blood sugar.
Do you work out until you're too hungry to continue, then go grab a quick lunch?
After lunch , the blood sugar spike you get from eating is offset by a dip. The bad news is that you are vulnerable to distractions at times when you have or hypoglycemia.
A 2009 study found that the effect of blood sugar is closely related to self-control and affects our ability to carry out “efficient, controlled, or executive processes.” Got a bad habit of succumbing to a heavy reddit session or endless Facebook scrolling? You're most likely to cave in when your blood sugar is above or below normal levels.
The Solution:
If by 2 p.m. you're already feeling like a meltdown, there's not much you can do. can do about it right now .
Tomorrow, however, you can find out exactly what is affecting your blood sugar and avoid it:
Keep your blood sugar even throughout the day. Graze, don't feast. Have a healthy mid-morning snack so you aren't tempted to eat a big breakfast. A big breakfast will be exhausting to digest and cause your blood sugar to rise and fall.
Watch your carbohydrate intake. Avoid bread, pasta, noodles, rice, potatoes, and just about anything with high levels of fat, carbohydrates, or sugar.
Related: Craving some sugar? Try these substitutes instead
3. You're about to get off the caffeine.
Are you one of the 54% of American adults who drink coffee every day?
As impulsive as that may be, I can't begin the day without him. I'm also inclined to drink a huge second cup in the early afternoon if I know I have a full day of focus work ahead of me. It makes me feel like I'm hungover or I've only had three hours of sleep.
It's not that bad, though. In moderation, coffee is actually great for your productivity. YouTuber Taylor Martin explains, writing for Todoist:“Countless studies have shown that, in small doses, caffeine can be incredibly effective, providing your body with a little boost of energy and alertness. It is also proven, among other things, to improve motor and cognitive performance, improve short-term memory and increase the precision of reactions and the ability to focus attention. »
We are regularly told about the dangers of drinking too much coffee or even how it could be dangerous everything dose. But while there are plenty of alternatives, giving up your morning coffee might not seem like a viable option.
The only major problem with coffee and productivity is when you drink too much too quickly or when you drink it too much. use as a substitute for a good night's sleep. In these situations, you'll feel scattered, lazy, and might even fall asleep.
The Solution:
Coffee in the morning, then water for the rest of the day. Drinking water throughout the day is essential to staying productive, as the effects of dehydration on the brain can seriously affect your productivity.
No more than 200mg at one time. A surefire way to avoid the afternoon caffeine crash is to keep your intake constant instead of drinking large amounts of coffee, whether that means a single cup in the morning or two small cups spread throughout the day. .
4. You have no concrete idea of your responsibilities or priorities.
I know it's easy to feel like you have a million equally important tasks to do at all times. When your motivation is already low, you can fall into the trap of reading your to-do list over and over, looking at so many different options that it's hard to decide.
Often your to-do list ( or lack thereof) can be the source of your productivity.
The solution:
Get your tasks out of your head. Take a moment to write down everything you need to do on a piece of paper. Make it as messy as you want. The point is to move your responsibilities from a place where they will be forgotten (or cause the anxiety you might forget them) in a place where you can see them.
Use a simple method to set priorities. There are a ton of complex ways to prioritize work, but often the simplest approach is the best:choose the three most urgent/important tasks for the day and save them in a separate list. Don't look at any other list all day so you don't get distracted. This hyper-focused method works best for people who feel like some of the more complicated task management methods are too daunting to learn.
Use a weekly review process. If you need a more comprehensive way to prepare for the week ahead and simple prioritization isn't enough, you can use this checklist that breaks down the popular productivity book's weekly review process. Do things . Using a defined process is a solid way to motivate yourself and avoid mistakes because it's so clear what you need to do next.
Related: 3 Productivity Habits of Successful People
