Evening star., 1927-03-30

aday world there is widespread mis-
understanding of such an elementary
question as the time of the day when
human efficiency is highest.
The experience of geniuses is un-
typical and unlikely to be helpful to
the average man. A well known short
story writer does all his creative work
after midnight, averring that his imag-
inatlon works best at dead of night.
Likewise, a famous scientist feels that
he can do his most productive work
after sundown and habitually works
until long after midnight.
Psychologists. who have observed
the behavior of large numbers of or
dinary men, however. deem such pref
erences as exceptional and abnormal.
Fatigued i'm Afternoon.
On the average, 4 in the afternoon
is the hour of greatest fatigue ana
lowest efficiency Between 4 and 3
pm. there is some revival of mental
energy, but after the curve again
moves moderately downward. The
average worker is at the peak OF eftt-
cheney early in the morning, when he
starts the business day. There is
sharp decline in efficiency between
and 10 o'clock, and virtually no change
between 10 and l o'clock. After ],
however, the curve moves sharply
downward until o'clock
Donald A. Laird. Colgate University
psychologist, applies the studies of the
laboratory to the requirements OF
practical life.
THE kind of mental work that one
can do varies definitely from hour to
hour of the day" he says in his ad-
mirable book, Increasing Personal
Efficiency" (Harper's). "Most people
can do their best work in the morn
ing.
THE longer one works the less re-
suits are being obtained for the time
and effort that is being expended.
This loss in efficiency is not due to
the time of the day so much as it is
to the hours one has already been at
work. This loss of efficiency is found
both in continued mental and in physi-
cal work, If they can really be dl-
vided The laborer in the street who
works mainly with his arms and shoul-
ders suffers loss in efficiency as the
hours of work progress. The lawyer
in his office who does mainly head
work experiences the same loss.
People Fool Themselves.
when folks think they can work
only at some unheard-of time they
are really fooling themselves. They
have formed certain habits of mental
work to which they are enslaVed.
Such is the case with a modern woman
poet whose lines are eagerly read by
thousands. She composed her poetry
only when her feet were perched on
table and she was smoking black
cigar.
1.-THE cigar and the feet on the table
are not essential for this mental work;
they are the result of a habit. Thus
it is also habit that makes the stu
dent believe that he can do his best
by studying after 10 o'clock in the
evening. He is spending more time
and getting his lessons less accurately
than he would If he studied in the
forenoon. But he, as have most of us,
has become slave of habit.
"The business man who has routine
work as we'll as mental work to do
should delay the routine until after
noon. He should do the mental work
in the morning If he is to be at his
best. The most common tendency,
however is to delay the mental work
until afternoon and get the easier
work out of the way first. This is
making the mental work really harder
and defeating the end desired"
To be effective the desk worker
should plan each days work in ad-
vance and he should schedule activities
in accordance with the hour chart of
f1uctuating personal efficiency.