The last few weeks didn’t offer any groundbreaking ideas, but I feel as though I now have some evidence on prior assumptions. Tracking my energy levels throughout the day showed me my biological prime time. There were a few more takeaways than just the time of day I’m at my best, particularly around the impact of caffeine and movement.
My BPT
The results of my tracking weren’t anything surprising. I’d be shocked to learn the energy fluctuations I go through were anything but common for those working a standard day job.
For a long time I’ve not been a great morning person, but I was glad to see that not all mornings are terrible. Days in which I got into bed at a standard time, around 11:30 PM, and was able to wake up naturally, I was feeling great. Unfortunately, those days became more and more rare as I began to make bad evening decisions as the trial went on.
At around 2 PM I hit my first peak, which makes some sense as it is after my typical lunch break. The afternoon decline hit pretty hard until about 5 PM. I may have been a bit early on declaring my post-work crash a thing of the past in my first post.
After 5 PM, I steadily climb back up until 7 PM, take an energy dip after dinner, and hit one last peak at 9 PM. Finally, I slowly decline until it’s time for bed.
Caffeine’s Back on the Menu
With a few weeks worth of data on my energy without any caffeine, I wanted to see what caffeine did over the last few days of the trial.
The first day back on coffee was wild. That Monday felt like it was Friday evening the whole time. I was riding an all time energy high, even more than the previous time I had coffee early in the trial.
While not experiencing a harsh crash, I did suffer from an inability to sleep. At midnight, I jotted down a 9/10 for my energy.
This is something I want to explore more with caffeine and alcohol back in regular consumption. What do my energy levels look like throughout the day when not restricting myself?
Better Alternative
Something I knew intuitively, but tracking provided me a more confident stance, is the impact movement has on energy.
Going for a walk or run can have huge returns on energy. It may seem counter intuitive. Shouldn’t exercise make you tired?
I really noticed it this week when I got back in my morning stretch routine again, as it took a bit of a hit when I no longer had my coffee brewing as a linked habit to do it. Right around 9 AM I recorded a 3/10 for my energy. I started my coffee and did my stretches. Before taking a sip of my fresh cup, I felt like I was already at a 6.
The same can be said for running, typically done after work. Some friends and I started running together a few times a week. Having others to pull me into getting out the door right around 5 has me feeling far better the entire evening.
What’s Next
The inspiration for this trial was Chris Bailey’s book The Productivity Project. The book has been the catalyst for my efforts to be more effective this year.
When I worked in an office, I had two monitors to work on. With working from home for some time, I’ve only worked from a single laptop screen. I’m curious to see what adding a second monitor does for my work habits. Will I begin to fall down traps of false “multitasking?” Will I find the windows I need faster? Stay tuned to find out!
Trying Out Before Buying In 