Left to my own devices, with no family, I’d start writing at seven p.m. and stop at four a.m. That is the way I used to write. I liked to get ahead of everybody. I’d think to myself, “I’m starting tomorrow’s workday, tonight!” Late nights are wonderfully tranquil. No phone calls, no interruptions. I like the feeling of knowing that nobody is trying to reach me.
Happy
on 23 Feb 09I agree, late nights are very productive!
Interesting to see a link to a blog dedicated to how “other interesting people organize their days” considering the most recent post titled: “What everybody else is doing is irrelevant”.
No matter how irrelevant we think the work of others is (even the work of our competition), there is just something about knowing what others do that is appealing.
William T
on 23 Feb 09I work for myself the same hours and style as Michael Lewis.
Implicit in his statement is quite a bit of solitude. Of course, writers/programmers/designers need time to themselves.
However human interaction and balanced lives are important in the long run, and I’ve been questioning my habits lately.
Best2Years
on 23 Feb 09The question is how to maintain that kind of tranquil “flow” once you have a family. For now it’s just me and my wife, but I’ll admit I miss those worknights.
Carlo Pecchia
on 23 Feb 09Lewis got the point! Sometimes it’s the only way to accomplish something important. Interruptions are the “beasts”...
Dan
on 23 Feb 09@Happy: maybe it’s not what other people are doing, but how they do it that is relevant here.
So maybe I took the last post about “What everybody else is doing is irrelevant” more literally than you, in that it’s the “what” that’s not important.
This blog’s strength is that it describes how things are done, not simply just what is being done. It’s rare that you see, which is why it may be better to filter most of that information out.
Heath Huffman
on 23 Feb 09Lol… the key there being the ‘no family’.... I remember those days myself. But instead of writing, I was developing software. When I first started my company I was putting in 12-14 hours a night.
That all changed when I had twins… now I’m luck to get in 8!
Julian
on 23 Feb 09@Dan: The post clearly said to neither care what people are doing nor how they do it. You have a non-argument there.
Behrang Javaherian
on 24 Feb 09Well, Nights are very productive as there is no distraction but it is not a health practice and should be avoided. It is fine for small period of time but it may cause many health related issues. After we should take care of our main asset which is our well being.
indi
on 24 Feb 09As long as you get enough sleep and you account for family time, the actual hours you choose to work shouldn’t affect your health. I don’t work as many night hours as when I was single, but I can still get a good uninterrupted three to four hours in after everyone else has gone to bed and before I have to get up for my day job :-)
Benjy
on 24 Feb 09I used to work like that in college when I had a term paper to write… I’d sit down around 9pm and work until dawn, then take a nap before class. It’s too bad that in the working world so many of us have to work during confined hours…
Anonymous Coward
on 24 Feb 09I agree here. I am sometimes my most productive at night as well… a LOT less interruptions… makes it easy to take care of invoicing for me.
Thomas Reitz
on 24 Feb 09OOPS… hit submit before filling out my contact info!!! :-D
I agree here. I am sometimes my most productive at night as well… a LOT less interruptions… makes it easy to take care of invoicing for me.
Dan Benjamin
on 24 Feb 09I’ve never been very productive with work at night.
I wake up early (usually between 5 and 6am with no alarm) and am most productive before 11am, often finishing most of a day’s work before that time. The rest of the day is for communication.
Keith
on 24 Feb 09Love this post! Post that people need fewer disruptions and they find a million ways to tell you how they are both unavoidable and how they are productive…
Post the same thing in this format…people love it! hehe.
Vicki
on 24 Feb 09I absolutely love working at night!
You’re right, no phone calls, no meetings, no staff asking for your opinion…the list goes on.
It’s more quiet, calm and it’s the witching hour that gets the imagination really running.
Unfortunately it’s not the most healthy time to keep (I sleep at 3am and wake up at 9am), because in traditional chinese medicine, the organ of the body has a regeneration time, starting from 11PM (I think).
Oh well, my lungs, heart and other bio-junk are crying out for help in the name of design…
MichalT
on 24 Feb 09Bump. I’m most productive at night too.
This discussion is closed.