Hey Copywriters, Here’s the Scientific Trick to Boosting Productivity

Published on April 23, 2020

Every copywriter has their own little secrets to success – maybe they need to have just eaten a spoonful of peanut butter or have their laptop at a perfect distance. Maybe they need to write first thing in the morning or they can’t even think about starting a blog post or sending a perfect Tweet until the dead of night.

But did you know there’s a scientific way to help boost a writer’s productivity? It’s true, and we learned the secret through this great HubSpot blog post. So, what did we take away? 

Marketers, here are a few ideas on how to find the ideal time to produce your content:

Get to Know Your Ultradian Rhythms

You may have heard about circadian rhythms, but ultradian? These are the biological cycles that make up our day: Through a combination of hormones, cardiovascular activity, and metabolic processes, our ultradian rhythms influence, and even regulate, our bodies’ energy, mood, and cognitive abilities, or our ability to think effectively.

Our ultradian rhythms move in 90-minute cycles. We have a peak period of ultradian performance – where our minds are naturally energized and firing on all fronts, boosting our productivity – followed by 20-minute healing cycles, which can be thought of as energy troughs.

So what’s the idea? We’ll perform our best writing, editing, and general thinking when we’re at an ultradian peak. For this reason, it’s best to work in 90 minute increments, with 20 minute breaks, since it doesn’t make sense to push yourself during a time when your mind and body need to reset.

But when should you schedule those 90-minute bursts?

Use Your Ultradian Rhythms to Determine Your Most Productive Times of Day

Now, it’s important to note that everyone’s rhythms operate on slightly different timelines. Peak and rest periods are as unique as our personalities or fingerprints, and they may be affected by circumstances like caffeine intake or sleep habits.

Another important note? Not all ultradian peaks are equal: Each 90-minute cycle may not give us the same level of productivity, and our energy may be highest early on, and wane with each subsequent cycle. On average, we tend to have a morning peak around 8 a.m. (this is the highest peak of the day for many), a mid-day peak slightly before noon, an afternoon peak around 2 or 3 p.m., and a slight “dinnertime” peak just around 6 p.m.

But will this work for you? Chart on your normal workflow and habits for a few days, and try to determine when you have the greatest amount of energy, and what time of day you have the fewest number of distractions. Ideally, try to find the point when those two factors line up the best, and carve out 90 solid minutes to write!

With a little trial and error, we’re sure you’ll find the time that works for you, leading to higher productivity, greater creativity, and better content. And the good news? The more you make carving out a writing time a habit, the better your results will be – because of neuroplasticity, your brain will adapt and adjust, making it better equipped to help you write whenever you’re ready.

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