Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, we’ve all asked ourselves the question, when are you most productive?
For most of us, rising early and getting our most valuable work done first thing in the morning is vitally important. Yet, for some of us, we function much better once we’ve had a few cups of coffee, and the chance to wake up!
But which time of the day truly is the most productive? And which is the most productive day of the week in the US?
To help you maximise your productivity, we carried out a survey of the great American public to find out exactly this and more.
What day of the week are employees most productive in the US?
Overall, the most productive day of the week in the U.S. is Monday. In contrast, the least productive day of the week is alternatively Saturday and Sunday.
The weekends see the lowest levels of productivity, which comes as no surprise. Considering a lot of employees have the weekends off, the odds of any other day being the least productive day of the week are very low.
When it comes to specific times, however, 10:54am is the most productive time of day for those in America, but how does this vary by state and by industry?
So, if working on a Monday at 10:54am is considered the most productive, which states agreed with this? Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Montana, and Nevada certainly follow this suggestion.
New York, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, on the other hand, all fell into the 10:00am – 11:00am time period.
Workers in Vermont are most productive at the earliest time, with 8:30am exactly considered their optimum time; with Utah being the only other state whose most productive time is before 9am.
In contrast, North and South Dakota prefer to get work done later in the day, at 3:06pm and 3:18pm respectively.
Interestingly, South Dakota’s most productive day of the week is Friday, which is the least productive weekday overall. Other states that agree with them are Arkansas, Oregon, Iowa and New Hampshire.
The vast majority of industries agree that Monday is the most productive day of the week – including finance, law, healthcare and marketing; whereas sales are the only industry that thinks Friday is the most productive day of the week.
The energy and utilities industry is most productive the earliest, at 9.36am, followed by hospitality and events, whereas leisure, sports and tourism, and recruitment and HR are productive the latest in the day, at 1:00pm.
The vast majority of industries agree that Monday is the most productive day of the week – including finance, law, healthcare and marketing; whereas sales is the only industry that thinks Friday is the most productive day of the week.
The energy and utilities industry is most productive the earliest, at 9.36am, followed by hospitality and events, whereas leisure, sports and tourism, and recruitment and HR are productive the latest in the day, at 1:00pm.
How to increase your productivity
So you might know when you are most productive, but is there any way to boost your productivity even higher?
We asked survey respondents how they tried to increase their productivity, with 50% citing a good night’s sleep as being the most effective method. This was followed by taking regular breaks during the day, drinking caffeine, and eating nutritious food.
Two cups of caffeine each day seems to be the standard amount, with 39.5% of people drinking caffeine saying they consume this amount. Interestingly, one in 10 (11%) respondents said they drank five cups or more throughout the day!
Minnesota and Iowa are fuelled by caffeine the most, averaging 3.8 and 3.5 cups per person per day respectively. In contrast, Rhode Island drinks the least on average, with just 1 cup a day.
When we look at this per industry, leisure, sport and tourism consume the most caffeine, at 3.5 cups on average a day, whereas those working in the science and pharmaceuticals industry drink the least, at 1.5 cups on average.
So, if you find you’re struggling to finish that task that’s been on your to-do list for the whole week, get a good night’s sleep on the Sunday evening, grab a cup of coffee (or two!) first thing Monday morning, and get it sorted at 10:54am on the dot.
How to make your business more productive
Of course, if you want to boost your entire company’s productivity rather than your own, there are a few things you can do to maximise this. One of the most useful features you can invest in is a virtual live chat assistant and phone answering services. With modern working being focused on worldwide connectivity and varied working hours, the ability to have 24/7 communication is a must.
Not only will a phone answering service, such as the one we offer here at Moneypenny, enable you to answer calls at any time of the day, but it will also take the pressure of doing so off your employees.
A professional and experienced receptionist will handle all incoming calls, allowing your employees to focus on what’s important for your next big project!
Get in touch with the Moneypenny team today to see how you could take advantage of our free trial options. There are no set-up costs, and no expectation to keep using our services if it’s not to your liking.
And for more hints and tips on how to boost your productivity, why not head on over to our blog. where we have more articles like this one.
