Wake up early

If you know me personally you know that I am a guy that wakes up early. Most of my friends criticise me about it but it works for me.\

Today as I was cleaning my Pocket list a bit I found this article.

There are tons of articles like that across the web. But why we must wake up early?

Not only does the early bird get the worm, he’s generally happier and has a higher overall satisfaction with his life.

“We don’t know why this is, but there are a few potential explanations. Evening people may be more prone to social jet lag; this means that their biological clock is out of sync with the social clock,” Renee Biss, a researcher wrote in a study conducted by the University of Toronto.

“Society’s expectations are far more organised around a morning-type person’s schedule.”
Robert Oexman, director of the Sleep to Live Institute, told us that “lack of sleep can manifest itself in erratic behaviour, short tempers, and bad decision-making.”

Sleep-deprived persons also have difficulty remembering details, and don’t deal as well in high-pressured situations—such as meetings or new business pitches.
And it’s getting worse nowadays because of technology usage. Young adults in their 20s are experiencing earlier signs of ageing attributed to sleep loss.
So if you’re not a born early riser how do you acquire good sleep habits?… read more

I also tend to agree that it is easier for programmers (and many others) to work at night. The distractions are limited(no cars on the street, no internet friends to chat with) and the night seems to help you to focus at one thing at the time.

How to perverse balance though?

1. quality over quantity

Don’t waste your sleep if you don’t have to and don’t invent things to do at 3am. This is not the time to pick up your new project.

I’ve fallen in this trap many times an it just wastes your time. Be sure to have a personal notebook and a pen all the times with you. If you happen to have an idea in the middle of the night just pick up your notebook and write it down briefly. If it was really good you will remember it with a quick look in the morning.

2. have a routine

It is easier to wake up in the morning if you know you have to do something.

Many people work out in the morning and most of them run. This wakes your body and your metabolism. This also gives you the opportunity to see the sunrise which you don’t regret most of the times.

3. don’t hit the snooze button! it’s a trap!

It happens to me all the time. I hit the snooze button at 7 and end up waking up at 8.30 after many hits. The alarm clock exists to wake you up at the time you set it to wake you up. Not six snoozes later.

The problem is that you must not hit the snooze button because it becomes a habit. And you don’t want this filthy habit to make you miss a class, that big meeting or whatever you have to do.

4. feeling sleepy? go home

This probably goes after quality over quantity. If there is no reason for you to stay out until the morning then don’t. The night seems not to go as you expected it to and you end up drinking with a sleepy face waiting to go home.

When that happens get out! You will be very happy with your decision when you go through that door and you know it ;)

5. set a limit

I have a rule. If it is 2am I ask my self if there is an absolute reason to stay awake and do some work. If not, I go to sleep.

Night is tempting and important for many of us but because morning is important too, don’t waste your night and sleep :)