--- title: How to Optimize Your Daily Schedule description: We know how most people spend their time. What can research tell us about the best way to spend our time? Maybe you’re a night... canonical: https://time.com/3612826/optimize-daily-schedule/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-04T05:01:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:03:26.906Z article:section: Ideas og:title: How to Optimize Your Daily Schedule og:description: We know how most people spend their time. What can research tell us about the best way to spend our time? Maybe you’re a night... og:url: https://time.com/3612826/optimize-daily-schedule/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt257a79c2fa67652f/69876bbc2dce010d749dc1a2/schedule.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5123 og:image:height: 2882 og:image:alt: schedule og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Optimize Your Daily Schedule twitter:description: We know how most people spend their time. What can research tell us about the best way to spend our time? Maybe you’re a night... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt257a79c2fa67652f/69876bbc2dce010d749dc1a2/schedule.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Optimize Your Daily Schedule > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Brief (Washington politics, twice weekly), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=36890ea1-20fb-4eff-bf55-1b646b321f56&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Dec 4, 2014 5:01 AM UTC  Open diary New Years Day on wood background Open diary New Years Day on wood background Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Dec 4, 2014 5:01 AM UTC We know how [most people spend their time](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-do-most-people-spend-their-time). What can research tell us about the best way to spend our time? * Maybe you’re a night owl. You don’t want to get out of bed. There’s a way to [get out of that habit](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-a-night-owl-learn-to-be-an-early-bird). And it’s important because [your mood in the morning affects your entire day](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-your-mood-in-the-morning-affect-your-ent). * Is it Monday? Don’t worry, [it won’t be as bad as you think](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-is-it-about-mondays-must-they-always-be). (On the other hand, [Fridays aren’t that great](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/tgif-is-friday-really-that-great-is-monday-re), either.) * There are many reasons [why a shower in the morning makes you feel so good](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/why-do-we-feel-so-good-after-a-shower) and it might even [make you more creative](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/during-what-average-daily-activity-are-you-mo). * Don’t skip breakfast, [it can lead to murder](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-skipping-breakfast-lead-to-murder). Then again maybe starving [is better for your health](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-starving-yourself-for-a-while-every-day-i). Have some coffee — here’s [everything you need to know about it](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-that-wonder-b), including [the best way to use it](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/advice-on-how-to-best-use-caffeine-from-a-neu). * Commuting [makes everyone miserable](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/everybody-hates-commuting-why-do-we-do-it). Try to avoid traffic or get a job closer to home, if possible. * You’re at the office. Don’t [procrastinate](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/7-steps-to-never-procrastinating-again). Here’s [a ritual](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-one-18-minute-ritual-make-your-day-dramat) to start the day off right. Do [important things first](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-it-best-to-have-job-interviews-early-in-th) if you want to hear “yes” from people. You can be a productivity dynamo [with the right tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/10-ways-to-turn-yourself-into-a-productivity). * During the day it might be good to know how to [set goals](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/the-last-damn-thing-youll-ever-need-to-read-a), be a [great leader](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/5-keys-to-being-a-better-leader?), improve [teamwork](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/5-ways-to-improve-teamwork), give an [awesome presentation](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/10-tips-for-giving-a-world-class-presentation), and [deal with lousy meetings](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/5-ways-to-improve-all-those-awful-meetings-at). And [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-get-through-work-today-without-killing)‘s how to get through the work day without killing anyone. Need to do creative work? [Do it at home](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/where-is-the-best-place-to-get-creative-work). * Have lunch or you’ll be cranky — [even if you don’t realize it](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-hungry-judges-give-harsher-sentences). * Any way to sneak a nap in here? Naps [increase](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/are-sleep-and-dreams-the-key-to-learning/) [learning](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-an-easy-way-to-boost-your-learning-a), aid [decision-making](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-sleep-on-it-good-advice) and [purge negative emotions](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-an-easy-way-to-purge-negative-emotions). Here’s [how to make them amazing](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-the-secret-to-amazing-naps). * (Is it the weekend? We know [what activities best help you recover from the workweek](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-weekend-activities-best-help-you-recover) and [what makes the weekend fun](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-makes-the-weekend-more-or-less-fun). Most important, [spend time with friends and family](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-the-secret-to-making-your-weekends-more).) * Do not just plop down in front of the TV. In the long term [it will make you miserable](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/why-does-tv-make-us-unhappy). Wasting time on the internet might mean [you’re not getting enough sleep](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-you-stop-wasting-so-much-time-on-the). * Between 6-8PM is [the best time to hit the gym](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/the-best-time-to-do-anything). (Your body temp is at its highest and this is the peak time for strength and flexibility.) I don’t need to tell you that exercise is good for you but it [might get you a raise](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-you-bench-press-your-way-to-a-pay-raise) and you might be surprised to find out that looking at [porn, action movies](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/should-you-watch-porn-and-action-movies-befor) and [superheroes](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-loving-superheroes-make-you-physically-st) beforehand might improve your workout. * Now might be a good time to work on a hobby or build that skill you’ve been working on (gotta get to [10,000 hours](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-it-true-that-10000-hours-of-practice-will) somehow) Reading is great but [it might be better if you did all your reading for the year in two weeks](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-it-better-to-do-all-your-reading-for-the-y), actually. * The best thing to do to increase happiness is [spend time with friends and family](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-should-you-spend-your-time-in-order-to-in). Having a better social life [can be worth as much as an additional $131,232 a year in terms of life satisfaction](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-are-your-relationships-worth-in-dollars). * Between 10PM and 1AM is the [best time for sex](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/the-best-time-to-do-anything) because skin sensitivity is at its highest. * Didn’t get enough done today? Feel strapped for time? You might want to consider volunteering. Ironically, [giving away time makes you feel like you have more of it](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-giving-time-away-the-best-way-to-deal-with). * Exhausted? Oddly enough this might be [a good time to get some creative work done](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-you-most-creative-when-were-exhausted). Or are you wide awake? Larks and night owls [have different strengths and weaknesses](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/night-owls-vs-morning-people-who-comes-out-ah). * [These tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/6-tips-for-getting-a-better-nights-sleep) might help you get to sleep. And you should make time for the proper amount of sleep — you can’t get away with less. [No, you can’t](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-little-sleep-can-you-get-away-with). Missing an hour [can take points off your IQ](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-missing-an-hour-of-sleep-take-points-off) and make it [harder to be happy](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-being-tired-make-it-hard-to-be-happy). **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/is-there-an-optimize-your-daily-schedule/)**_._** **Join over 135,000 readers and get my free weekly email update** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** Related posts: [What 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/what-10-things-should-you-do-every-day-to-imp/) [How To Make Your Life Better By Sending Five Simple Emails](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/make-your-life-better/) [4 Lifehacks From Ancient Philosophers That Will Make You Happier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/01/ancient-philosophers/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3612826/optimize-daily-schedule/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3612826/optimize-daily-schedule/"},"headline":"How to Optimize Your Daily Schedule","datePublished":"2014-12-04T05:01:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:03:26.906Z","description":"We know how most people spend their time. 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