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It is easy to feel that when we are alert we are more productive. In fact, there is a lot of science that would back up this notion. Science shows that in our most alert and awake moments, our memory, decision-making abilities, and attention are all improved. This finding is so universal, that those moments have even been dubbed our “optimal time of day.”
During the “optimal time of day”, our brains are better able to control the flow of information from thought and perception. This is a fancy way of saying that we can block out distractions. We can maintain our focus and our working memory on relevant information that is useful to whatever task is at hand.
While these moments are incredibly useful during the work day, they can at times be elusive. As our alertness levels are primarily driven by our circadian rhythms, there are natural dips that occur alongside the peaks. Many office workers experience a natural dip around 2 to 3 pm, which explains the afternoon coffee break. Additionally, other factors come into play that can affect our alertness, such as staying up unusually late, or sugary foods that can cause an energy boost and crash.
But hold it right there. If you are reaching for coffee to bring you up to your decision-making prime, stop right now! The “optimal time of day” is great for many tasks, but there is one essential task that we are more likely to excel at when feeling fatigued: insight problem-solving.
We often face two types of problems in our work lives. The analytical problems require us to search through and narrow the problem space, moving closer toward the solution as different possibilities are eliminated. Insight problems, on the other hand, require us to actually reframe the initial problem and see it from a completely different angle. We need to break free from how our brain is focussed on a problem and pull in seemingly irrelevant information to solve it. Solutions to these problems pop into the mind in an unexpected flash – often called an “Aha!” moment.
When we are experiencing a dip in alertness – or even a downright crash – our inhibitory attentional processes become less efficient. (That's the ability to block out irrelevant information.) The result is that our brains open up to the kind of random information necessary for insight problem solving. We are able to break away from our current framing of the problem and open ourselves up to a new point of view.
Instead of planning your lunch break during your “non-optimal” time of day or pumping yourself full of caffeine, embrace these low-alertness moments and set aside that time for work that requires creative and insightful problem solving.
During the “optimal time of day”, our brains are better able to control the flow of information from thought and perception. This is a fancy way of saying that we can block out distractions. We can maintain our focus and our working memory on relevant information that is useful to whatever task is at hand.
While these moments are incredibly useful during the work day, they can at times be elusive. As our alertness levels are primarily driven by our circadian rhythms, there are natural dips that occur alongside the peaks. Many office workers experience a natural dip around 2 to 3 pm, which explains the afternoon coffee break. Additionally, other factors come into play that can affect our alertness, such as staying up unusually late, or sugary foods that can cause an energy boost and crash.
But hold it right there. If you are reaching for coffee to bring you up to your decision-making prime, stop right now! The “optimal time of day” is great for many tasks, but there is one essential task that we are more likely to excel at when feeling fatigued: insight problem-solving.
We often face two types of problems in our work lives. The analytical problems require us to search through and narrow the problem space, moving closer toward the solution as different possibilities are eliminated. Insight problems, on the other hand, require us to actually reframe the initial problem and see it from a completely different angle. We need to break free from how our brain is focussed on a problem and pull in seemingly irrelevant information to solve it. Solutions to these problems pop into the mind in an unexpected flash – often called an “Aha!” moment.
When we are experiencing a dip in alertness – or even a downright crash – our inhibitory attentional processes become less efficient. (That's the ability to block out irrelevant information.) The result is that our brains open up to the kind of random information necessary for insight problem solving. We are able to break away from our current framing of the problem and open ourselves up to a new point of view.
Instead of planning your lunch break during your “non-optimal” time of day or pumping yourself full of caffeine, embrace these low-alertness moments and set aside that time for work that requires creative and insightful problem solving.
Audio read and recorded by RP Singh