Finding Your Work Rhythm Without Burning Out

In a world driven by productivity, many of us too often feel as though we are chasing hours that keep slipping away. 

Sometimes we feel overworked and tire easily, while the demands remain very real.

Should we stop in order to restart the machine?

Recovering so that we feel less tired sounds sensible, but is it possible without feeling guilty?

The aim of this article is to recognise that we each function in our own way, depending on the moment. Sometimes things come more easily, while at other times they require more effort.  

Lindsay Brénugat, a psychologist specialising in neuropsychology, explains how to understand yourself better and optimise the way you work for a better quality of working life that combines productivity and integrity. 

Listen to and Follow Your Own Rhythm

Understanding your work rhythm is essential to managing your own productivity.

Your rhythm includes both your pace of work during the day and the length of time you can concentrate. Do you feel more effective in the morning, or do you work better in the evening? 

Understanding your rhythm is essential to staying productive without exhausting yourself. If you force yourself to perform tasks when you are tired, they will feel far more demanding and tedious.

To identify the most productive time of day, we can refer to our “maximum optimal mobilisation time”.

Your optimal time is the length of time you can concentrate on a task without it becoming too costly for you. It is worth remembering that everyone’s optimal duration varies, even though the generally accepted maximum optimal concentration time is around 45 minutes. 

Here are a few simple recommendations for identifying your optimal working time and adapting your schedule accordingly:

• Observe yourself and recognise your energy peaks and more difficult periods.
• Make use of your high-energy periods and take them into account when organising your work. When you are more alert, prioritise tasks that may be more complex and require more effort. Conversely, when you know you are in a more tired period, reserve those moments for more automatic or routine tasks. This organisation helps you avoid working without being productive and makes it possible to use that time effectively. 

To identify when your optimal mobilisation time is declining, look for simple signs that your concentration is decreasing: do you start yawning? Do you find it difficult to stay still and want to move? Are you becoming more distracted?

When fatigue sets in, the most effective way to regain focus is something everyone knows about but few people use: taking a break.  

An effective break creates a genuine interruption from what you are doing and allows your attentional capacity to recover. It does not need to be long: a one- or two-minute break can be highly effective and is often enough to help you refocus.  

Our rhythm is unique, just like the way we absorb information.

Let us explore our sensory preferences together. 

Take Your Sensory Preferences into Account

Sensory preferences refer to the way we prefer to understand and retain the information we receive.

Understanding our sensory preferences helps us improve learning by selecting the right source for the information we need.

 There are several types of sensory preference: 

1. Hearing, seeing and reading: do we prefer to hear the information we receive, see it or read it?
2. Do we prefer a static format, such as a newspaper or book, or something dynamic, such as television, to receive information? 
3. Some people are also kinaesthetic, meaning they learn and absorb information more effectively when it is associated with bodily movement.  

To identify your sensory preference, think back to childhood and remember your favourite way of learning. 

Once you have identified your sensory preference, incorporating it into the way you process information can help you become more productive while using less energy: 

• If you have a visual memory, try to visualise the information mentally.
• If your memory is more auditory, try verbalising the information you need to remember out loud.
• If you are more kinaesthetic, move around and create gestures that help you remember information more effectively.

In addition to your natural tendencies, external factors also affect your productivity and, indirectly, your potential fatigue. Your working environment is one example.

Adapt Your Working Environment

We often underestimate the impact of our environment on concentration and rarely ask ourselves: what is my preferred working environment, the one that suits me best? 

Working in an environment that does not suit us can unfortunately lead to rapid exhaustion and reduced effectiveness.

When considering our working environment, several questions can help us find the best setting: do I prefer to work in quiet, isolated spaces? Do I prefer to work alone, or do I enjoy working in a team?

In an organisation, it is not always possible to control your working environment. If you work in an open-plan office, you may not be able to demand an isolated desk to protect your concentration. 

However, there are small techniques you can use to bring your working environment closer to your optimal setting: 

• If you work in an open-plan office and cannot isolate yourself, you could use earplugs to reduce the impact of surrounding noise. 
• If you prefer to work in a team, you could organise collaborative working sessions with colleagues. When working remotely, do not hesitate to create group remote-working sessions. 

Last but not least: turn off notifications, alerts and sounds while you work. Set aside a clearly defined time slot to check your emails, which will help reduce distractions.

What next?

Productivity is not magic. It is often the result of learning and of developing a better understanding of ourselves.

Despite the pressure to set objectives and achieve them, we should not forget that our bodies and minds are unique. We can move forward without exhausting ourselves by working with our individuality rather than against it.

Key takeaways 💡

• We all function in our own way, influenced by internal factors such as sensory preferences and our natural rhythm, as well as external factors such as our working environment.
• Understanding yourself and the way you function makes everyday tasks feel easier, less tedious and therefore less tiring. 
• Do not underestimate the impact of your environment on your productivity.

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