Working in 90 minute intervals appears to maximize our productivity, according to a study by K Anders Ericsson of Florida State University.

In this study, Ericsson found that the best performers were those who worked in 90 minute intervals beginning in the morning, and took recovery breaks in-between.

To maximize productivity,  “individuals must avoid exhaustion and must limit practice to an amount from which they can completely recover on a daily or weekly basis.”

How interesting!

With that in mind, how can you better plan your week?

Now, for me, I am pretty good and slicing up and scheduling my time during the week. I usually section it into 60 minute blocks, because I tend to lose focus after that.

However, when it comes to ‘recovery’, I cannot say with honesty that my recovery breaks allow me to recover completely. I tend to use them to get lost down the facebook/twitter rabbit hole… and I know that’s not proper recovery time. So it got me thinking… what would be some great, easy ways to use the recovery time to actually recover?

Here we go:

1. Sit down with a cup of tea/coffee and enjoy it. Without distractions. No facebook, twitter, internet, tv etc

2. Listen to a beautiful piece of music or a song

3. Take a dance break – get that body moving

4. Go outside for a breath of fresh air (without my phone!)

5. Listen to a short guided meditation

6. Read a post on my favorite inspiring blog

7. Experiment with a new recipe

8. Phone a friend

Over to you…

• Think about your week. How can you make it more productive? Can you implement the interval system?
• And, what can you do to make your recovery time effective?