The Best Times of Day to Do Everything At Work

We’ve all heard that timing is everything. But now science and data have been able to prove that timing plays an important role in scheduling different types of tasks at work, from getting a response to your email to asking for a raise. Get ready, here are the best times to get these seven things done:

1. Send an email that gets read

Answer: Weekend morning

According to a study of 500,000 emails by email tracking software provider Yesware, email-open rates are higher on the weekends. That’s because significantly less email is sent on weekends and you have less competition for clicks.

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2. Send an email that gets a response

Answer: Early morning, between 6am and 7am

Reply rates are highest in the morning—about 45 percent—according to the Yesware study. And fewer emails are sent during these time slots, lowering competition. The study also found all weekdays to be equal; so don’t worry about the day, just focus on the morning.

3. Schedule a meeting

Answer: 3pm on Tuesdays

If you have a meeting at 9am, employees will need to prepare the day before, or turn up unprepared. And if they’re not prepared, they won’t come. Tuesday afternoon works because that is the furtherest you can get from the deadlines at the end of the week without bumping into the missed deadlines from the week before.

4. Make a tough decision

Answer: First thing in the morning or right after lunch

Researchers found that judges who were hearing cases made consistent decisions first thing in the morning and again right after lunch. You want to be fully energized to make a decision. Since eating replenishes energy, you’re refreshed and ready to tackle decisions after eating.

5. Ask for a raise

Answer: In the morning

Researchers from Harvard University and the University of Utah found that people are more likely to operate at a higher level of moral awareness and self-control in the morning—a phenomenon called the “morning morality effect.”

6. Interview for a job

Answer: In the morning

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Harvard Business School studied MBA applicants and found that when similarly qualified candidates were interviewed consecutively on the same day, the last interviewee received lower scores than he or she actually should have.

7. Brainstorm new ideas

Answer: If you’re a morning person, 6pm If you’re a night owl, morning time.

While it might sound counterintuitive, the study found that creative thinking requires people to approach problems from a different angle. If you’re clear-headed, your mind will jump to the most logical solution. While it’s important to use your time of best focus for tasks that require concentration, a distracted and fatigued brain comes up with the most innovative ideas.

Relevant source: Fast Company