If you’ve ever sat at your office feeling too tired to get anything done, this article is for you.

When you’re working on creative tasks, people often lack the energy they need to be effective more than the time.  We all have those times when we’re feeling lackluster and those times where we’re ready to kick butt; I know I can be ten times more productive when I’m hyped than when I feel a little drowsy.  If you have the flexibility of choosing when you want to work, you should think about taking advantage of these energy cycles.

For example, I’m not a morning person.  I’m usually most energetic in the mid-afternoon.  I generally try to set up my day to take advantage of this.  In the morning, I’ll take care of easier tasks like writing emails or running errands.  Then when I’m at my most productive, in the mid-afternoon, I’ll set aside a block of time to work on problems that take more concentration.  This is a lot easier if you’ve been able to organize things so that you can choose when you want to work.

Planning your work around your energy is one thing, but there are also things you you can do to increase your energy levels.  Many people rely on caffeine to wake them up.  I find this helps me in doing repetitive tasks, but it makes it harder for me to think creatively.  Doing some exercise is a great way to get the blood flowing through the body and brain.  Eating a light, nutritious lunch is also great.  See what works for you by experimenting.

I just finished reading Steve Pavlina’s new book called Personal Development for Smart People.  It boils down the teachings of hundreds of self-help books into one framework based on the idea that an individual should consciously strive to live with the three core principles of truth, love, and power.  The book is full of practical, down-to-earth ideas about how to develop and apply these principles.

There’s no question that in any small business, the personal effectiveness of its core members is hugely important.  However, I find that thinking of an organization like a separate individual can produce helpful insights.  Let’s take a look at how thinking of the principles of truth, love, and power as applied to a small business can give you ideas to improve.

Truth:
- What external sources can you learn from?  e.g. advisors, blogs, books, similar businesses
- Do all the important people in your company regularly talk directly with customers?
- Do you have easy access to the numbers on the trends for your sales and expenses?
- Do you have easy access to find out how much inventory you have and where?
- Do you have checks and balances in place for your decision-making processes?

Love:
- Do your company’s workspace and culture provide a positive working environment?
- Do your employees feel valued and work together well?
- Does your company build a strong enough bond with its customers to make them want to talk about it?
- How can you further build your company’s reputation and exposure to your target market?
- Is your company socially and environmentally responsible?  What contributions can you make in the community?

Power:
- How quickly can you perform common tasks like invoicing customers?
- How is the financial health of your organization?
- Do you have sufficient cash or credit to invest in new initiatives?
- Do your employees have the right tools and skills to be fully productive?
- How powerfully are you able to respond to change from your customers or competitors?

This multi-dimensional way of thinking can help you identify often neglected aspects of your business that could be improved.

Last time, we talked about how you need to relax to solve difficult problems.  This is part 2 of 2, discussing how can improve your memory and skill by being sure to get a good night’s sleep.

Sleep isn’t just resting, your brain is working on processing your experiences so that when you wake up, you’ll remember things better, pick up new skills faster, and maybe even acquire some new insights.  This is all backed up by studies showing how people performing a variety of tasks (ranging across memory, coordination, and math) do better if they’re allowed to sleep between practise sessions, instead of just relaxing while awake.  Read more.

In fact, you get this benefits not just from nighttime sleep, but also from daytime naps.  Since there’s a natural tendency to be tired in the mid-afternoon, this is a great time to take a nap, also known as a siesta in places where this is the norm.

If working smarter and increased productivity aren’t enough to convince you to get a good night’s sleep and encourage napping at your workplace, keep in mind that well-rested people have better moods, making it easier to work productively with others.

A high-stress, deadline-driven culture in your organization might pump out more mundane work for little while.  But a proper appreciation for rest and relaxation can help you work smarter, developing more game-changing insights and skills.  And it’ll make your organization a much better place to work, helping you to attract and keep great people to work with.