The Secret to Mastering Productivity, Achievement, and Happiness
You’re not lazy: you just don’t know your chronotype yet.
In addition to suffering from social anxiety, I left my job to pursue my passion this year, so my anxiety levels are higher than ever.
It’s not a secret that socially anxious folks need to have a bullet-proof routine in order to thrive. One of the most important things for us is to sleep enough because a lack of sleep messes up the brain and increases anxiety.
Even though I was making efforts to go to bed early and wake up early-ish, I still felt sluggish and anxious. I read somewhere about chronotypes and decided to take a test to discover mine.
Basically, your chronotype is your natural sleep and energy inclination. For example, some people are early birds when others feel more energetic at night. There are four chronotypes, each with its own specificities: dolphin, wolf, lion, and bear.
Take the test
First, take a test to find out what your chronotype is. I used this one.
As you can see below, dolphins are light sleepers, often suffer from insomnia, and are most productive in the mid-morning to early afternoon. Wolves, however, are night owls who feel more energized in the evening and are usually more productive later in the day.
Find the routine that suits you
Do some research to find the routine that best suits your chronotype. For example, I’m a bear, which means my sleep and wake cycle goes according to the sun. The ideal schedule for this chronotype is as follows:
- Wake up at 7 am
- Deep work between 10 am and 2 pm
- Go to sleep at 11 pm
As you can see, this “routine” is really just a day structure — the one that’s supposed to work best for you. This website is a good resource to find your ideal day structure.
Bear (pun intended) in mind that if a lot of blogs offer a super detailed, minute-by-minute routine breakdown for each type, you only need to know your ideal wake-up time, when to do your most important work, and when to go to sleep.
Everything in-between is up to you; don’t try to implement a so-called routine you found online. It would be way too easy if all the “bears” needed the exact same routine. And some people don’t even want a routine at all.
Give it a try
Try to schedule your day according to your chronotype if you can, and see if you notice any positive changes. After at least a week, analyze how you feel. Are you getting more things done? Do you feel more optimistic and energized? Do you make healthier choices?
Sleep is extremely powerful and has a tremendous impact on our well-being. Living according to your chronotype means sleeping, waking up, and working in a way that suits you best. This means your odds of getting stuff done, achieving your goals, following through with your healthy habits (and overall feeling great) are much higher.
Conclusion
Discovering my chronotype changed everything for me. I went from being lazy, tired, angry, and grouchy to a happy and productive over-achiever. I wake up feeling (mostly) rested and ready to tackle the day. It would be a lie to say my anxiety has disappeared, but it’s certainly more manageable now mostly because I feel more alert and cross things off my to-do list.
