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Waking up at 5am to code

mattgreer.org

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Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#11

Post by stephencanon »

My wife is a surgeon. I'm up at 5am with her, drive her to work, then sit down and start working myself around 5:30. I find that I'm fantastically productive from then until about 9 or 10am. I take a long lunch break (and go running or xc-skiing depending on how much snow is on the ground); aside from that I don't have any trouble going straight through the afternoon, though my afternoons are less productive (I usually spend them meeting with team members and doing more routine work because of that, which works well because that's when everyone else is around).

In order to make getting up at 5 livable, we're asleep by 10pm. We were both night people once upon a time, but I really don't feel like I miss it.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#13

Post by rumcajz »

I am doing this right now. The point, I believe is, that you spend the most productive part of the day working for yourself rather than for your employer. Still, I believe in certain jurisdictions your employer owns your work even if done in your free time.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#15

Post by Frostbeard »

I wish it were possible for me to do something like this during the week, but it isn't. I wake up at 05:30 as it is, and I'm out the door and heading to work by 06:30 (that's an hour to SSS, prepare and consume breakfast, take out the trash, scrape the windshield, and whatever else might need doing). I don't get home until after 17:30. I'm typically occupied being a loving and attentive father up until 20:00 or so. Assuming I want to get 8 hours of sleep, that means I'm left with one and a half hours to split between personal projects and my wife during the week.

On the other hand, I do get up just as early on the weekends, and it's probably my most productive time of the entire week, up until my kids get up.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#16

Post by epaga »

Quite the coincidence - I just started doing exactly this a few weeks ago, and am fact am reading this at 5:30am my time (when I should be coding :P). It has worked quite well for me as I work on my app.

I'm a bit more tired in the evenings and go to bed a bit earlier than I used to, but seeing as how I would just waste time in the evenings playing Jetpack Joyride, it's a very good trade to make.

I bought a coffee machine that has coffee waiting for me at 5am, and I also use the Sleep Cycle app which at the very least provides a placebo for making me wake up more alert. ;)

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#17

Post by kreek »

5vforest wrote: post #3

This sounds horrible... and like it would ruin my productivity towards the end of my work day. How about waking up early to exercise?

That's what I do, well not always 5am... but I try! Any way ever since exercise became a habit I no longer need caffeine after lunch. The bonus is if you're super busy then you can skip the workout and do some extra work.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#19

Post by LukeShu »

rumcajz wrote: post #13

I am doing this right now. The point, I believe is, that you spend the most productive part of the day working for yourself rather than for your employer. Still, I believe in certain jurisdictions your employer owns your work even if done in your free time.

I think it has more to do with the document you signed when you started than where you live.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#20

Post by stephencanon »

epaga wrote: post #16

Quite the coincidence - I just started doing exactly this a few weeks ago, and am fact am reading this at 5:30am my time (when I should be coding :P). It has worked quite well for me as I work on my app. I'm a bit more tired in the evenings and go to bed a bit earlier than I used to, but seeing as how I would just waste time in the evenings playing Jetpack Joyride, it's a very good trade to make. I bought a coffee ma…

Exactly. Most people are far more distractible in the evening (partially because there are simply more distractions available), so shifting your schedule earlier results in less time spent on distractions.
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