When do you feel most productive?

As a general rule, I think I’m at my most productive in the mornings. After the first coffee of the day, and a bit of breakfast, I tend to find myself feeling… well, not exactly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I’m too much of a grey-muzzle for that, but certainly more focused. Where possible, I aim to devote some morning time to creative writing or blogging material, as my thoughts seem clearer in the first half of the day. This isn’t always the case; sometimes I will catch a wave of inspiration that carries me to some writing progress in the afternoons or evenings. Case in point, The Schism (the sequel to The Awakening) was written largely in the evenings, after work.

That brings me to a thought. I feel at my most productive in the mornings, and most days, I am at my day job. This feeling therefore often manifests itself in other ways. I may get the vacuum out and run it around the showroom. I might put out brochures, or contact customers. Ironically, sometimes my productive urges lend me entirely towards writing, and being at work renders this impossible. This in turn generates a bit of frustration!

What I also sometimes wind up feeling in the evenings, especially if I am at work, is worn out of wanting to deal with people. I feel more productive when I am not dealing with human beings, since human beings tend to bring questions and complications into the equation. It is typically that portion of the day that brings more people in my direction! Case in point, it can get to within half an hour of closing time on a Saturday, and that’s when we start to get a trickle of customers through the door! Ours is not an environment where you generally make a quick decision to buy something and go, so in my view, waiting until then to come in and browse is disrespectful to the staff.

I’ve gone off on a tangent. In short, I am usually at my most productive early in the day, though I can also be productive in the evenings, if I choose to be.