View Full Version : When does your brain shut down for the day?
I was sitting here, actually working on a project that I enjoyed. But my brain is DONE. It happens around 2 p.m. every day. After that, heavy thinking is not possible. Oh, I suppose it would be if I had a major deadline, but my natural rhythm says "enough."
The same thing happens on weekends. Although I don't pay much attention to the clock then, usually when early afternoon rolls around, I'd better be done with all the major work for the day. Then I can move into quieter tasks.
I'll admit though, it's much easier to keep going if I'm doing non-computer stuff. A day chained to the desk is the real killer, and I'm feeling rather brain-dead right about now. :)
poetry_writer
6-1-11, 4:10pm
I was sitting here, actually working on a project that I enjoyed. But my brain is DONE. It happens around 2 p.m. every day. After that, heavy thinking is not possible. Oh, I suppose it would be if I had a major deadline, but my natural rhythm says "enough."
The same thing happens on weekends. Although I don't pay much attention to the clock then, usually when early afternoon rolls around, I'd better be done with all the major work for the day. Then I can move into quieter tasks.
I'll admit though, it's much easier to keep going if I'm doing non-computer stuff. A day chained to the desk is the real killer, and I'm feeling rather brain-dead right about now. :)
I dont think our brains, or bodies for that matter, were made to be stuck at a desk staring at a computer screen all day. I used to work in cubicle hell. Shoved in a tiny cramped cubicle, a phone in my ear with customers screaming at me, an alcoholic boss hanging over my shoulder......by 2 pm my brain was putty. I'd have trouble forcing my eyelids open and even more trouble trying not to bolt for the door and run screaming. The only thing that helped was a quick coffee break, a step outside, a break from what i was doing. It was horrible.
I work an office job, and I usually hit a wall around 2:30/3 pm. After that, I'm not productive.
Very true that a walk outside helps me wake up a lot! Too bad its so far for me to go to get outside (currently work on the 28th floor....)
My brain wakes up at around 7, then does super-well until around 11:00am. Then it needs to get outside and freshen up for a while, then back to work (if there is any). Around 3:00, it tells me that I've done enough of the hard stuff, and wants to either do simple mechanical things, or take a nap. In the latter case, afterwards I'm good for a couple more hours.
We all have our best cycles during the day. A good game is to try to match up the task(s) you have to do with the timeframe where you have the best energy to get those particular things done. I save bookkeeping for the late-day slump; I do my most creative, challenging work in the morning. Everybody's different.
I'm more or less a morning person, and I have been really lucky that my current job allows me to work 7-3. I love that hour or two in the office in the morning when no one else is there. I usually use it on email, but if I have a big project that needs sustained concentration sometimes I will also tackle it then. For me, my mental lag periods closely track my blood sugar cycles. I eat breakfast at my desk just before work, and 3 hours later (10:00 am) I have a pretty serious dip. I'll sometimes have a handful of nuts or something to pick me up (heaven forbid I have something starchy in my desk or I am onto a blood sugar roller coaster for the rest of the day). I would have another dip at around 3 typically, but usually I am on my way out the door! I get home with enough time to work out before the kids get home, and that usually keeps me sharper in the evening so I can tackle family and personal projects.
I've also read somewhere that there is a natural dip in the circadian rhythm in mid-late afternoon, where your body chemistry changes. But for me I think the blood sugar influence is probably the bigger factor.
lhamo
My brain is on and off at various times of the day, but doesn't totally shut down until about 11pm to midnight.
6am-7am I am usually up and allowing my brain to collect itself. by 8am I am in full swing until about 11am to noon. Then I am down until at least 3pm. By 2pm I am usually napping. 3-6pm is another productive period followed by a down period from after dinner until the kiddos go down at 8pm. Then I am good again until 11pm to midnight. I am off schedule today, however, having been awake through nap time I am now down for a while.
My brain is on and off at various times of the day
That is me! No telling when I'll be 'on' or 'off' anymore.
It seems like my brain never shuts off :(
It's problematic . . . at least lately :( I forge through even though I need to just stop and breathe. This is why I think my teaching days may be numbered . . .
I have that 2/3 pm slump. It works when I am subbing at schools that get out at 3 or before. Right now that is when my busy time starts but it is not brain intensive. I start going from school to school and dealing with staff being out or missing kids or whatever. I know when I was teaching and the kids got out at 4 it was horrible The principle would not let us have an afternoon break which had been working so well about 2 or 2:30. Just 10 minutes outside to run and get a breather.
My brain shuts down at work at about 4:00. When I'm at home, I really get rolling at that time.
My daughter completely shuts down at about 8:30. If her homework isn't done by then, it's not going to get done.
I forge through even though I need to just stop and breathe. This is why I think my teaching days may be numbered . . .
I'm thinking that my days of being parked behind a desk may be numbered. Hanging on a little over 4 years would make my life a lot easier, though.
Yeah, I'm at half-capacity at around 2-3. But the tank is empty at 9pm--even if the kids ask me to help with homework. They learned quickly that if they don't get their questions answered by 8-ish, they're on their own.
I have 6 hours a day of good work time. Unless it's interrupted by a worthless meeting...
I have 6 hours a day of good work time. Unless it's interrupted by a worthless meeting...
I can fully relate to that. Although these days, my sustainable limit seems to be four hours a day.
Life_is_Simple
6-2-11, 5:34pm
I'm glad to see this topic. I work 30 hours a week for a client, and that's really all I can do. The client once said, "Oh, for Project X, you don't have to cap your hours at 30," as if he was doing me a favor by giving me more hours.
I tried to increase hours, but it really wasn't sustainable. The work is too intense, and 30 is really the max I can do.
It's kind of just he opposite with me. I am a vegetable before noon. Don't even ask me to add 2+2 because it ain't happining! About noon I start waking up and by 4 pm I am going full speed. For this reason, back when I was working a regular job, you would often find me there until 6 or 7 pm to make up for my unproductive mornings.
enota
My brain shuts down for the day when I hit my snooze button. :~)
Mangano's Gold
6-7-11, 7:59pm
I am definitely stronger at 8PM than 8AM. I try to avoid human interactions and anything that involves higher congitive functions before 10:30AM. I don't schedule morning meetings, and am not likely to attend one unless I have to. But work or otherwise I am fine at 8, 9, 10, 11PM.
I swear my brain and mind never shut down.
Mine shuts down between 3 and 4 p.m. Then I'm awake once again!
When I was working, I would occasionally have to work a week of night shifts. I would be fine until about 1 AM then I was useless until I started waking up about 5AM. About the time I would be getting used to it and could actually be functional the entire shift, it was over and I'd be back to days or evenings. Another blessing of being retired!!!
I once had a job that consisted of nothing more than sitting in front of the computer, copying and pasting text, translating it and then copying and pasting again. My brain (and body!) normally shut down about 3 hours into it. Having a break didn't do much. It really didn't help that I had to reach really tight targets either :/
In my current job, it's so easy, varied, stress-free and laid-back, that my brain doesn't really overwork itself!
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