Are you at your best?

When my daughters were in elementary school, a huge focus was appropriately on their learning to read.  Their teachers helped each student find a “just right book”; one that was the right reading level, a topic they were interested in, and the right length.

 I’ve often thought that adults should use this phrasing when we choose a book. 

 At Your Best by Carrie Nieuwhof was a just right book for me. 

 The main emphasis in this book is to do what you are best at when you are at your best!

He walks the readers through a process to determine when they are at their best.  Are you a morning person?  Do you get your best work done after midnight?  Have you ever actually tracked your energy level throughout the day?  Most folks may not be too surprised to discover the window of time when they are their best, but the process itself is helpful.

Once you’re clear on when you are at your best, you need consider what your best work is.  Nieuwhof fleshes out this determination using a Venn diagram of passion, gifting, and impact. 

Here is how he defines each:

Passion = What you love to do (energizing, look forward to)

Gifting = Others find it difficult, but you make it look easy                      

Impact = Make the biggest difference (in the moment and long term)

The intersection of these key areas is the work you should focus on when you are at your best.  When you leverage your energy most strategically, you’ll realize that you’re capable of producing not just more work but better work.

As a morning person, I should be doing my most important work at this time.  However, I find that it is easy to squander this prime time to answer the short and quick emails and cross a few easy things off the to-do list; get some quick wins to feel like my day is off to a productive start. By the time all of these “easy wins” are done, other people now want a piece of my time.  The phone is ringing.  New emails have begun to pour in.  The next time I get a break, my energy level is waning. The most important work is now bumped down to the bottom of the list…again.  Sound familiar?

 It has been an adjustment for me to reorganize my day and put my most important work to the time slot where I am at my best. First thing in the morning is now focused on what’s most important and I’ve learned to tame the urge to start with the easy items on the list.  Those can wait!

 Do you know when you are at your best?

Do you know what your best work is?

And…Are you doing your best work when you are at your best?