Exercise - Build a model of your ideal workday
You have much control over the cadence of your day, more than you might realize after you've accounted for scheduled meetings and coding sprints. Take time to assess your personal style to determine how you work best, and try to align your day with your objectives.
Make a planner
Take a few minutes to visualize your ideal workday. On a piece of paper or an Excel worksheet, create a small "planner" page for yourself. Draw a table with eight columns, or time blocks, each representing one hour in an eight-hour day.
Map out your focus time.
Try to build in time during each day to focus on tasks that take a lot of concentration, such as learning or programming.
Map out your breaks.
Build in a few 10-minute moments per day when you can stretch or have a beverage. Don't forget your lunch!
Map out your preferred meeting times.
You might not be able to have meetings aligned with your preference, but at least you'll go into meetings prepared and knowledgeable about your own state of mind.
Reflect
Now, take a step back and reflect on your preferred working patterns.
How long do you tend to work before needing to take a break?
The amount of focus time you need is dependent on this value.
Are you more productive in the morning or afternoon?
If you see that you tend to need more breaks in a given time slot, that might indicate that you're more productive and can focus more at other times of day.
When are meetings most productive for you?
If you can align your breaks between meetings, that frees up more time for focus.
Compare
Compare your ideal work day to your current calendar.
Can you optimize your focus times to occur at your peak productive moments?
You might be able to block your calendar for this focus time.
Can you request that your manager book 1:1 meetings during your preferred meeting times?
Your meetings might be more productive if you can group them together.