The Hard Work Myth

plan all my creative and writing work for Fridays when I find I can focus better Making these simple changes has had

As soon as I’d set the number of hours I wanted to work, I was forced to make some changes. I started scheduling my time to avoid working late into the night. I stopped checking my email an hour before leaving the office to avoid getting dragged into last-minute issues. And I began planning ahead so that I’d get things ready for next week well ahea

can do more in one 1.5-hour slot late in the afternoon than the whole morning ● If I skip lunch, I’ll have crashed by 3pm ● If I do some exercise before work, I concentrate better all morning ● If I drink even one glass of wine in the evening, I’ll feel groggy until 11am the next day Some of these are really basic nuggets of self-awareness. Some yo

2010 study by Green Peak Partners and Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations found a high self-awareness score to be the strongest predictor of overall success[12]. The report added: “This is not altogether surprising as executives who are aware of their weaknesses are often better able to hire subordinates who perform well in categorie

Here are some questions you can ask yourself today to begin growing your self-awareness. Jot down the answers to create your own set of rules: ● What environment do you work best in? ● When do you work best? ● At what time of day do you have your best ideas? ● How much sleep do you need? ● Do you prefer lists or schedules? ● Do you work better with

The answers to these questions will help you map out your perfect working week and working environment. Self-awareness is a truly powerful thing. It’s your fuel for optimizing what you’re able to get done in a day, and for creating a routine that suits your energy highs and lows. And it is fundamental to shattering The Hard Work

You might already know some of the following statements to be true about yourself: ● I like to leave my afternoons free to focus on one thing ● I cannot multitask ● I procrastinate if a task is too big or requires a lot of brainpower ● Towards the end of the week, I find it easier to get into a flow