There are countless possible ways to measure and parcel-out our time, but one of the more practical ones, for my purposes, is that of “cycles.”

Within this context, a cycle is a period of energetic continuity that can last 15 minutes or three hours, but which is distinct from other cycles based on ebbs and flows of cognitive posture, creative capacity, focus (or lack thereof), and general state of mind.

I might enjoy a 30-minute cycle each morning during which I have precisely the right mindset for writing creatively, and another cycle just after that during which I’m more naturally inclined toward research or predictable, tedious tasks for several hours.

These chronological chunks aren’t the same duration but they’re compartmentalize-able, and if properly identified and harnessed they can provide us with a significant boost toward whatever goals we want to accomplish—whether that means writing a book or relaxing and recharging our batteries.

This organizational approach is especially useful for making our days—and how we spends our daily allotment of wakefulness, energy, focus, and other such resources—more legible.

It can also help us rearrange things so that the right undertakings are aligned with the right energetic states.

Sometimes such reshuffling results in time saved because tasks that previously took ages to complete, or which weren’t done well the first time and thus required more time and attention, later, can be accomplished more effectively and efficiently.

Sometimes no time is reclaimed, but deadlines can be met without the significant cognitive and emotional drain that might otherwise result from repeatedly cramming a round task-peg through a square cognitive state-hole.

Sometimes our work—or non-work recharging, socializing, or other such psychological and physical upkeep—improves in quality as a result of such realignment because we’re able to focus on things that we’re ready to focus on, rather than deciding that things must be done at a certain time and in a certain way out of habit or because of external influences.

In other cases, things will seem to work better and more efficiently once, but when we try to replicate that feat, it doesn’t work; our newfound process is not replicable and the previous way of doing things remains the best option, for the moment.

This way of seeing things—as rearrangeable chunks of energy-defined time—can be especially useful when you’re keen to work something new (a new habit, hobby, project, socializing routine) into an already-full schedule.

It’s also a decent means of periodically checking in to see if non-ideal habits and rituals may have taken root, not because they’re in any way good or beneficial for our current, individual iterations, but because of expediency or laziness.

If you do decide to reframe things in this way, note that changing one thing will often change another, so downstream adjustments will likely be necessary.

We also naturally change with time, so even if you haven’t consciously altered anything about the way you do things, simply existing will eventually erode seemingly reliable lifestyle structures, so it’s worth taking semi-regular stock to make sure you haven’t accidentally segued into something non-ideal without realizing it.

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