Early Birds and Night Owls: A Productivity Tip

This tip is something I learned watching my father growing up. He’s the Director of IT for the insurance division of one of the largest banks in North America, so I’m pretty sure he knows what he’s doing.

He was always a big advocate for spending time with his family, or at least being at home should anyone need him. To ensure that he could do this, he found a chunk of the day where he could be the most productive that wouldn’t take away from his time with anyone else.

He’d wake up before the rest of the family was up and head off to work. He did this for two reasons, one being the office was empty at 6:30 or 7am, and there was no traffic, trimming his typical rush hour drive from over an hour down to 20 minutes.

In the hour or two that he had in the morning before any meetings to go to, problems to take care of or personnel to organize, he could get most of his days work finished. This gave him a free day not having to worry about the things he had to do, but rather be focused on the people he had to manage and make sure that they had everything they needed to do their jobs.

All around, he was a better manager, had less stress and had way more time for his family. So whether you are an early bird or a night owl, find your chunk of time where you can get the most done. You’ll feel better for it.