I’ve been trying like crazy to avoid caffeine lately, since drinking it makes me jittery, but one of its other great effects is productivity. For a long time, a cup of coffee was the way I jolted myself up to speed after lunch. Getting work done after lunch is now slow going, and I have to struggle to do as much in two hours as I can do with one good hour in the morning.
That being said, I’ve given myself a few new tips for getting through that time of day:
Schedule Physically Active Work: I have been trying to put meetings on my schedule for afternoons, especially meetings where I have to get out of my office and go to a different building. This means a brisk (cold!) walk and a conversation, which I usually find so engaging that I won’t be tired. I also do things like hanging up posters, cleaning my office, getting and returning library books, and going out to purchase supplies during afternoons. This physically active work makes me more prepared to do mentally active work when I get back to my desk.
Get up, get water, drink it, get back to work: While water has zero caffeine in it, the activity of walking across the building to fill up a cup with water, drinking it, and getting back to work tends to revive me at least temporarily. I like it also because I am not all that good at staying hydrated, so this simple routine means that no matter how drowsy I get, I always have a little excursion option.
Use the last 15 minutes of the Day to Make Plans for the Next Day: For some reason, even my snooziest afternoon can get exciting when I get to make plans (who me? your resident productivity-and-organization blogger?). Coming up with a list of how to best utilize my morning the next day is a good way to invest in the fact that having a waiting list the next morning will make me very effective.
How do you get through the post-lunch drowsiness? I know it’d be great if all 8 hours of my workday were as productive as 9am-10am, but since they aren’t, I’m still looking for new tips!