Waking up at 5am to code • Hacker News Board

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#21

Post by radagaisus » Mon, Jan 23, 2012, 4:36 AM UTC

Mornings are great. Yesterday I woke up at 4 and saw that Facebook Hacker Cup is on. I finished all the problems before my work day started - how awesome is that to start your day?

One thing I don't understand is how people can focus on a couple of projects simultaneously. This year I've worked a lot with javascript and backbone, and I have a folder with ~4 open source projects I wrote that I'm not going to publish. Why? Because then I'll shift my focus from delivering the product to delivering open source.

It takes me a few hours every Sunday and Friday to get in the mood of 'this project is going to kick ass'.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#22

Post by orbitingpluto » Mon, Jan 23, 2012, 4:37 AM UTC

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.

Your employer should only own your work outside of work hours only if you have a non-compete, is directly related to the work you perform, is derivative of code that you access from work, or you indentured all of your code contractually.

Anybody know if a GPL versus "we own everything you do" situation has arisen yet in the courts?

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#23

Post by gte910h » Mon, Jan 23, 2012, 4:37 AM UTC

stephencanon wrote: post #11

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 usual…

OT: Why do surgeons start work at 5 am?

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#24

Post by bri3d » Mon, Jan 23, 2012, 4:39 AM UTC

Love this - a simple personal anecdote/retrospective rather than a self-promotion or "everyone should do as I say" piece.

You could solve the girlfriend + music issue with a nice set of closed-stage headphones. I love my AKGs. But I'd actually A/B test with and without headphones - without the distraction of office noise, no headphones/music might actually be helping you focus as well. I find that even with a solid, no-thought, tried and true playlist of entirely ambient (or even classical) music, I still find music causing my mind to wander from time to time.

I might have to try to sell the girlfriend on this idea soon.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#25

Post by joeyo » Mon, Jan 23, 2012, 4:44 AM UTC

gte910h wrote: post #23

stephencanon wrote: post #11

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 usual…

OT: Why do surgeons start work at 5 am?

Table time for the first case of the day is usually quite early, as you want lots of time in case there are complications.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#26

Post by plasma » Mon, Jan 23, 2012, 4:46 AM UTC

Thanks for this post, I will need to try it.

I agree the few times I've been up early to code (even to catch up on some work) its been good, felt like I got extra hours to the day (well, I guess I did!) even before I officially started.

I think then after 5pm going to the gym or relaxing can be a good choice because I've already done my 2 hours on my side project.

It does get exhausting doing extra work after 5pm (after you've taken a break, eaten, done other things etc) so I like the idea of doing it early.

I may wake up even earlier to get to gym in the morning, as I liked that too.

I definitely waste several hours at night just messing around, avoiding going to sleep, which would be better spent being asleep so I can get up early.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#27

Post by kabdib » Mon, Jan 23, 2012, 4:48 AM UTC

In the last six or seven years I've been up regularly at 5am or so. I can get an hour of work done before the rest of the household wakes up. It's great.

My inspiration was Gene Wolfe, who wrote _The Book of the New Sun_ in the wee hours, and held down a day job as a technical magazine editor. [I'm not claiming my code is anywhere near as great as the wonderful writing that Wolfe did, but the early hours are definitely some of my most creative time]

A few rules I have:

- No email. This just starts the whole stress machine going. I'd rather not have /any/ human contact, and if something's fallen off and broken in the last eight hours, it can wait another two or three.

- No Reddit or other black-hole-of-surfing sites (though I do check HN -- this may change if HN becomes too Reddit-like).

- Coffee is ready to go (set up the prior evening).

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#28

Post by artursapek » Mon, Jan 23, 2012, 4:48 AM UTC

plasma wrote: post #26

Thanks for this post, I will need to try it. I agree the few times I've been up early to code (even to catch up on some work) its been good, felt like I got extra hours to the day (well, I guess I did!) even before I officially started. I think then after 5pm going to the gym or relaxing can be a good choice because I've already done my 2 hours on my side project. It does get exhausting doing extra work after 5pm (af…

Bite the bullet and try it. When I can, I walk to a nearby cafe right after sunrise to get a couple hours of work in and every time I do it I feel great the rest of the day.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#29

Post by devs1010 » Mon, Jan 23, 2012, 4:49 AM UTC

I've thought about doing something like this but I've realized I just can't until I figure out a better commuting situation, either having a very short commute or using public transportation. Sitting in traffic for almost an hour on the way to work is rather draining to where if I'm going to do that I can't seem to bring myself to get up any earlier than I have to as I'd rather use the time spent driving to wake up so its not completely wasted

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#30

Post by guitate » Mon, Jan 23, 2012, 4:52 AM UTC

I need a habit like this, maybe I can be more productive on morning than nights (who knows), also some days can go to do exercise, yeah, everything sounds great but the getting up is so painful.