Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Waking up at 5am to code

mattgreer.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 202 posts

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#171

Post by nihaar »

nhashem wrote: post #92

A lot of commenters have talked about the pros of this routine, and there are many. Few interruptions, working while your mind is fresh, working within a regimen, etc. However, if you don't have an equivalent amount of discipline on at night to get enough rest, you will quickly burn yourself out. I did this routine for a lot of the second half of 2011, and since I'm a night owl by nature (going to bed at 12 midnight…

Agreed on the cons. I've tried this as well for a while and it does require a huge change in lifestyle. My gym time was cut down to nothing as I would usually get up and hit the gym prior to work (going to the gym in the evenings is very tough for me).

So although my sleep time was the same (I was still going to bed and waking up at the same time as before), by taking out my gym routine, I was actually feeling more tired, down and otherwise less alert. So I've been playing with alternating work/gym during the weekday mornings.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#172

Post by pjscott »

hopeseekr wrote: post #155
pjscott wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been like this for as long as I can remember, so caffeine isn't it.

Normal endocrine systems peak at around 3 AM and are at their lowest at around 3 PM. If you happen to wake up at 5 AM vs 8 AM, you will feel more energetic. This is because, historically, our main predators were nocturnal, while we hunted almost exclusively in the two twilights (we have substantially better twilight vision than virtually any animal). So when the wolves came at 3 AM we'd be at our most energetic and w…

Huh. Your description of normal actually matches up pretty well with what I experience. Throw in some bedtime-drift, and you have a pretty good description of me. Thanks, this had been kind of worrying me a bit.

(I've always wondered why waking up at 6 AM was so much easier than waking up at 8 AM. It was baffling.)

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#173

Post by derekp7 »

polyfractal wrote: post #164
chrisdroukas wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure about the two hour timespan, but brightness appears to have an effect on sleep latency and the time it takes to fall asleep. Studies [edit: PDFs]: [1] http://www.journalsleep.org/Articles/250312.pdf [2] http://www.sciencesleep.org/ziliao/Effects%20of%20playing%20... [3] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2005....

Definitely install F.lux: http://stereopsis.com/flux/ It adjusts the color temperature of your monitor as the sun goes down. As the sun sets, your monitor becomes more red/pink. It takes a little while to get used to it, but I absolutely cannot stand normal monitors at night time now. When I occasionally disable F.lux to watch a movie at night, I'm blinded by the bright blue glow.

I've recently done this, and it helps when I'm on-call and get woke up in the night. I can now fall back asleep faster. Another item that helped, I've put oil lanterns up on the walls in my home office. I just got to remember to light them instead of flipping on a light switch, and all is good.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#174

Post by jonstjohn »

tomkarlo wrote: post #133
nhashem wrote: post #92

A lot of commenters have talked about the pros of this routine, and there are many. Few interruptions, working while your mind is fresh, working within a regimen, etc. However, if you don't have an equivalent amount of discipline on at night to get enough rest, you will quickly burn yourself out. I did this routine for a lot of the second half of 2011, and since I'm a night owl by nature (going to bed at 12 midnight…

The caffeine is a vicious cycle (I've been there.) When you're short on sleep, you need it to get through the day, but the side effect is you end up staying up later than you need to. Also, if you want to get to sleep, avoid screens (TV, computer) for the last hour or two before bedtime and you'll find it's a lot easier (E-ink readers like the Kindle are great for this.) It's hard to switch gears from the stimulation…

I was a serious coffee drinker that switched to black tea and finally down to green tea. I've found (and read) that small doses of caffeine are much better for concentration and productivity. I generally have 2-3 cups of green tea a day, get a slight boost in mental alertness, but never get the 'crater' effect of over-consumption. Bonus: I never wake up craving caffeine or needing that first of the morning jolt to become coherent.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#175

Post by freehunter »

k-mcgrady wrote: post #48

Interesting post. I used to do this myself but eventually found it difficult to get up so early. I've recently been trying out something similar though. I find it difficult to get to sleep often lying awake for up to 5 hours before falling asleep. As I am a freelancer I then tend to make up for it by sleeping in late (as I don't have a job to go to). I have recently been following a schedule of sleeping 2 nights and…

Laying in bed awake is counter-productive to falling asleep. Get up, have a drink of water, read a few chapters of a book. Let your mind settle down, then try it again. Laying awake just lets your mind wander.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#176

Post by aw3c2 »

gizzlon wrote: post #94
dvdhsu wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. Wow. That's really interesting. I was actually going to give this a try because of Robert Pirsig, who wrote Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance . Here's how he did it: In a 1974 interview with National Public Radio, Pirsig stated that the book took him four years to writ…

When writing my thesis I was very productive at night. Guess I was too tired to procrastinate and over-think things.

I am missing the right words but one gets more creative in the evening. Many people can relate. A friend of mine worked from 1800 - 0300 for his master thesis, because the words "flowed" better.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#177

Post by enqk »

nkoren wrote: post #101
enqk wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe due to over use of caffeine?

I'm the same way, and my friends had the same reaction as you. They suggested that if I cut out caffeine and sugar then my body's own natural energy would resurface, and I'd stop being so groggy until the mid-afternoon. So, I listened to them, and for 9 months I consumed no stimulants at all. After 9 months of this experiment, I was -- and I know the story isn't supposed to work this way, but it did -- consistently g…

Ok, the only other reason I notice sometimes long bouts of tiredness during morning, is when my wake up time is badly chosen. Do you wake up with an alarm? Try to wake up on your own before it rings. Waking up in certain cycles of your sleep will turn one into a sort of morning zombie ;)

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#178

Post by AznHisoka »

alexwolfe wrote: post #64

I've tried this approach and others. I'm sure for some it can work but ultimately I found you can't cheat time. If you wake up at 5am by 2pm you toast (mentally at least). I've found no real secret to gain extra real hours. The reality is that your mind can only function productively for so long each day. The productivity you feel at 5am is the same you'd feel at 8:00am it just seems more amazing because it's happeni…

Waking up early entails sleeping early, and I find that for every hour you sleep before 12, it counts as 2 hours, not 1.. I just feel more refreshed the earlier I sleep.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#179

Post by gsharm »

AznHisoka wrote: post #178
alexwolfe wrote: post #64

I've tried this approach and others. I'm sure for some it can work but ultimately I found you can't cheat time. If you wake up at 5am by 2pm you toast (mentally at least). I've found no real secret to gain extra real hours. The reality is that your mind can only function productively for so long each day. The productivity you feel at 5am is the same you'd feel at 8:00am it just seems more amazing because it's happeni…

Waking up early entails sleeping early, and I find that for every hour you sleep before 12, it counts as 2 hours, not 1.. I just feel more refreshed the earlier I sleep.

It was Benjamin Franklin that seemed to have first documented this effect. He had a nice routine going too:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickbilton/3779169741/

To think he did this in the 1700s. So far ahead of his time.

Re: Waking up at 5am to code

#180

Post by Diederich »

alinajaf wrote: post #99

> Enjoying the work is key Recently I've discovered that this mindset has been detrimental. Sometimes hard work is supposed to be hard. If you rely on passion or some sort of intrinsic motivation, then as soon as you come to a task you don't want to do (i.e. the 90% of any project that doesn't involve coding) procrastination sets in. I worked mornings non-stop on my little side project for around 6 months last year a…

As with many people in this forum, the kind of work I enjoy the most is really hard.

It's true that there's a variable amount of sucky work that comes up.

Over the years, I've discovered that some of the hardest but most rewarding kinds of work revolve around figuring out what causes sucky work and making that stuff disappear.

Many times, this is addressing deep, systematic problems inside an organization. These are often technical, but sometimes they're not.

Sometimes, though, it just comes down to coming up with cute hacks to automate paperwork and communication. And that kind of work of work is rewarding too, especially as you get more and more people to use your automation.

Post reply on HN