Benefits of getting up early even if you don't want to code

Could you remove the "10" from the beginning of the title? http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

The problem is that it requires you to go to bed at 7pm. This will most likely never work for me.

I've also tried it and no matter how much I prepare, I'm always really tired during the day and I end up taking a mid-afternoon nap.

I think it might be because I'm a night person.

Aside from catching the sunrise, none of this has anything to do with rising early as in early in the day.

It's mostly about rising early meaning with ample time so that you are not rushed and have time to start the day in a mentally and physically healthy way.

I think that starting the day in a positive way is very important regardless of what time you wake up. You don't need to go to sleep at sundown and wake at sunrise.

This is one of those things that can kill itself if widely adopted. Several recent articles have touted the benefits of early rising. Being able to start your day in peace and quite is truly a benefit of waking up early. But if everyone adopted the strategy, if everyone was there with you to watch the sunrise, the gift of temporary solitude would be gone. I tend to like to work alone, whether early in the morning or late at night. The asynchrony with the rest of my immediate world is the key.

About five and a half years ago, I accepted a position with the US Marine Band. It has been wonderful in many ways, but one way I thought it would change my life never came to fruition: I thought it would make me a morning person.

I'm still at my desk at 0730 every morning and I'm able to be effective during my working hours, but that happens in spite of the hour of day, not of because of it. Instead, I've become a coffee drinker and have learned to value the nights when I can really focus on something into the early morning hours because the alarm clock won't ring the next morning.

I think transitioning from a night person into a morning person or vice versa is possible, but I've learned that change can't be brought along by external factors. I think it's important that we remain aware of the social norms that influence when we choose to sleep when we embark on trying to make such a transition. For example, starting a job requiring a 0600 alarm was difficult when I was 24 because my social circle regularly stayed out past midnight. Changing my routine required changing my social circle. Now that I'm 30, that part of going to bed early is easier. The wanting to stay up late because I'm being productive - that part I still haven't figured out.