Why I Started Organizing My Productivity in Cycles
Switching to natural rhythms has changed everything
When I worked in horticulture, it was my first realization as to how strange us humans are about our arbitrary “work schedules.” Thousands of years ago, a schedule hardly be a concept to our ancient ancestors, as they slowly began to settle down during the agricultural revolution. Before that, we hunted and foraged, moving around as the seasons and bodily nourishment required.
We lived in the cycles of nature, and our productivity was confined to the whims of the natural world; daylight, the seasons, the daily weather patterns, the geographic landscape. But as we moved into cities, built trains and planes, developed electricity and rapidly expanded technology, we have tried to automate our productivity as well.
I worked in a 9-to-5 setting for about five years, during which I often felt constrained. I had been a post-secondary student and part-time shift worker for nearly eight years before that, largely building my own schedule.
As a graduate student, I easily worked forty hours per week between schoolwork, being a teaching assistant, among other engagements, but I felt in control of my scheduling and time. I was spoiled, in a sense. If I didn’t write well in the morning, I could finish my paper…
