The chronoworking method is designed to help you get the most out of your working day, based on your own personal ‘chronotype animal’ (stick with us here, I promise).
With a million different methods of distraction available at your fingertips at all times, it has never been easier to let your mind wander during the working day. As so many of us now opt to work from home, the spare bedroom spreadsheeters and the back garden email skimmers of the world are constantly on the lookout for methods that make dialing in all day that little bit easier. One potential solution is the increasingly popular chronoworking method, and we assure you it’s not as complicated and technological as it sounds.
Chronoworking might be 2024’s most prolific productivity trend
Searches for chronoworking are sky-rocketing, as workers attempt to discover their ‘chronotype’ in a bid to maximize their productivity.
Originally coined by digital journalist Ellen Scott, the term chronoworking refers to the idea that, instead of adhering to the traditional 9-5 style shift pattern, the working day would be more fruitful if we were to stick to the hours that best suit our circadian rhythms.
For those unaware, your circadian rhythm is a biological clock that refreshes in your brain roughly every 24 hours and dictates when your body is most productive. While some people are natural early risers who are raring to go by 8 am, others require a bit more of a staggered start to the day and don’t tend to hit their stride until after the hours that most people would consider to be lunchtime.
According to the chronoworking method, workers wouldn’t be contributing any less than they normally would, but in order to extract the greatest amount of productivity, we would simply start and end our shifts based on the rhythm of our body clocks.
What are the different chronotypes?
In order to determine the working pattern that best suits your needs, workers are encouraged to uncover their ‘chronotype’ – which is essentially a way of categorizing your circadian rhythm type.
Research on the topic shows that chronotypes are typically categorized in four different ways, and animals – specifically lions, bears, wolves and dolphins are typically used to help people remember theirs.
Starting with the early riser – the lion chronotype represents the first worker to start their day. Lion chronotype individuals wake up around 6am, are at their most productive between 9am-2pm, and are said to account for around 15% of the population.
The most popular chronotype is the bear, who is a person that will wake up around 7am, be at their most productive between 10am-2pm, and will head to bed at 11pm. This represents over half of the population, with 55% of people believed to have bear chronotypes.
Nightowls who rise at 7:30am and are productive in the afternoon are regarded as wolves and make up 15% of the population, while just 10% of people are believed to have dolphin chronotypes – meaning they rise at 6am, but are not at their most productive until 3-7pm.
The benefits and downfalls of chronoworking, as explained by a sleep expert
According to Martin Seeley, a CEO who knows a thing or two about sleep – having worked in the mattress industry for over 20 years, there a number of benefits and potential pitfalls to this innovative approach to working.
Seeley claims, for example, that learning to understand your chronorype will “help you align your work schedule with your body’s natural rhythms.”
Moreover, the sleep expert claims that, if done sensibly with a healthy, well-maintained sleep schedule, making the switch to chronoworking can “optimise your productivity while ensuring you stay well-rested and maintain a healthy work-life balance.”
Seeley does point out, however, that there are risks associated with the system: “Whilst this approach offers considerable potential benefits, including enhanced employee health, greater job satisfaction, and improved productivity, it also carries risks. For example, it can make it harder to coordinate with others, disrupt social and family life, stress and cause sleep disruptions.
“Despite the intention to enhance sleep quality, irregular work hours can interfere with the natural body clock, leading to more stress and anxiety, preventing sleep at night. So, while chronoworking sounds good for helping people work better and sleep better, it needs careful planning to make sure it works for everyone.”
