Google’s productivity advisor explains how to find your peak work hour

“Some people are night owls and some people can function well at 5 a.m.,” he said. “It’s just part of our system.”

To uncover these internal clocks, the first question he asks executives in his coaching sessions is: “If you had a whole day tomorrow, no meetings, no interruptions, no permanent commitments, but a lot of things to do, how would you structure your day?”

The responses varied dramatically. Some clients preferred to work into the evening, after late lunches, while others preferred to start at dawn with a break or exercise session in the afternoon.

But everyone has their “power hours,” which Martin describes as “the two or three hours a day when you feel most productive.”

Martin suggests keeping a small notebook near your desk for two weeks and jotting down any time you feel particularly productive or low on energy.

“Once you’ve determined some of your general productivity patterns, you can begin to mimic your ideal conditions as often as possible,” he said.

Ideally, Martin said, these deep work hours should be spent on tasks related to your top three priorities. If they partially overlap with other fixed commitments, such as mandatory meetings, Martin recommends blocking out your deep work hours as much as possible.

“Even once or three times a week, or even just one hour of your three Power Hours, will make a huge difference in how much control you feel over your work and your to-do lists,” she said.

Martin said several clients have told her that “that one change in their schedule has made the biggest difference in their overall productivity.” In one case, an executive used to take her lunch break at noon every day before realizing it fell right in the middle of the day when she felt most productive.

“He started eating lunch later and found that the time from 12:00 to 13:00 was one of his most productive hours each day, and to think he used to spend it eating lunch!” she said.

That doesn’t mean you should only work during peak hours. What Martin calls “off-peak hours” are ideal for other activities, like sending quick emails or chatting over coffee. In fact, they can also be optimal for more creative tasks.

She cited research by Mareike Wieth, a psychology professor at Albion College, which indicated that people tend to be more creative when they are less focused and more open to a wider range of information.

Martin said knowing your energy usage and off-peak hours helps you stay in control and produce better performance. It also “gives you permission” to have low-energy moments during the day and use them for more compatible tasks instead of burning yourself out.

“The best way to think about this is: When am I in the mood to do this kind of task?” he said. “Put it there!”