4 a.m. Is the Most Productive Hour • Hacker News Board

Re: 4 a.m. Is the Most Productive Hour

#81

Post by jameslk » Tue, Aug 23, 2016, 10:04 PM UTC

readhn wrote: post #65

jameslk wrote: post #34

I'm one of those unlucky types that have the hardest time waking up and getting going in the morning. Mentally I'm at 50% or less. Is there anyone else like this who's found techniques or other methods of overcoming the slow start?

What time do you go to sleep and when do you go to bed?

Right now it's bed at 2-3am and up at 10am due to my current work. I've varied that quite a bit in the past. I've done different hours of sleep as well. I've even seen a sleep medicine doctor who seems to suspect a circadian rhythm sleep disorder. So far the best method I've found is being consistent with the time I wake up, although that only makes it marginally better in the morning.

Re: 4 a.m. Is the Most Productive Hour

#82

Post by jsprogrammer » Tue, Aug 23, 2016, 10:08 PM UTC

antisthenes wrote: post #45

jsprogrammer wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People who can produce the goods in 1-2 hours are that productive. >Sure, those hours are great for ingesting what has happened since the last cycle but not really for creating new value. Why?

Well, for starters because it takes at least 1 hour to eat breakfast, take a shower and get dressed + usually another half hour for the commute and some minor errands on the way. Obviously that applies less if you work from home, since you can cut the shower and the commute.

Some have been known to work from home without breakfast, as well.

Re: 4 a.m. Is the Most Productive Hour

#83

Post by johnnyhillbilly » Tue, Aug 23, 2016, 10:10 PM UTC

randyrand wrote: post #76

praptak wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"If you are being paid specifically to put work in front of your hobbies" ...then it is most probably illegal in quite a lot of countries. Labor codes exist for a good reason. Most people are a) employees b) not willing to put life ahead of work and c) not willing to be forced to by competition from desperate/workaholic co-workers. Database uptime employees work shifts, so even they should not be forced to put life b…

I suspect you are wrong about legality, but lets put that aside. Do you think it's reasonable to expect a CEO to put work in front of hobbies?

Not as a goal in itself, no. In the case of real priorities, yes. In the case of apparent priorities, no.

Nevertheless, how numerous are CEOs compared to other employees?

Re: 4 a.m. Is the Most Productive Hour

#84

Post by johnnyhillbilly » Tue, Aug 23, 2016, 10:14 PM UTC

randyrand wrote: post #74

coldtea wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Well it's certainly worthwhile to the Japanese people that work at these jobs for decades. Otherwise they would not do it. Being conditioned to do something, or being forced to do something to feed yourself because few other job opportunities exist outside Japan's corporate world, are not the same as "certainly worthwhile". Except, of course, in the sense that not getting homeless or starving is worthwhile.

> not getting homeless or starving is worthwhile Do you not consider those worthwhile!? That's like the best example of worthwhile there is! What point are you making?

That if the employer creates a situation where you can't play an hour of guitar at home and put it on youtube without firing you, then it's worthwhile for no valid reason.

Re: 4 a.m. Is the Most Productive Hour

#85

Post by deanCommie » Tue, Aug 23, 2016, 10:20 PM UTC

jff wrote: post #9

Hydraulix989 wrote: post #5

This was obviously written by a "morning person." Like most engineers and other creatives, 4 AM is when I'm just starting to get my deep sleep (which peaks at 6-7 AM). 12-2 AM is the most productive time of the day for me.

> Like most engineers and other creatives Free yourself of culturally-assigned norms ("engineers and creative people work best at midnight, with lots of coffee") and consider a wider breadth of experience. The most productive and effective person I know, a computer engineer, typically starts working before I'm even awake. The premise of the article is that 4 a.m. is both outside most of society's normal waking period…

First it was open floor office layouts, now it's morning productivity.

Why can we not just agree that what works for one person does not for another.

I have a mild form of attention deficit. When I am fully awake and alert, my mind races at a mile a minute, and I can't focus on any task for longer than a few minutes. It's great for email, but having a long deep uninterrupted think? Forget about it. So, I distract myself - whether it's with music, or by pacing, or what have you, and it allows my brain to pay attention.

This also means that being SLIGHTLY tired at the end of the day is wonderful for focus. No, I'm not thinking as quickly as I do when I'm well rested. But I get a lot more done.

One other thing: I'm sure I'm not the only night owl that finds the morning pre-everyone-else-awakening far from peaceful. If anything it's a constant reminder that your time is finite and is about to disappear. Every morning is a deadline until the world awakens and your productivity ends.

Evening/nights are the opposite of this: If everyone around is in bed they'll stay away, and you are only limited by your own fatigue and focus. The world is your oyster until YOU choose you no longer want to work.

Re: 4 a.m. Is the Most Productive Hour

#86

Post by rch » Tue, Aug 23, 2016, 10:35 PM UTC

SyneRyder wrote: post #6

For anyone deciding if it's worth clicking through: it's mostly a list of anecdotes about early-riser CEOs & people who workout as soon as they wake up. I didn't see anything about those who work through the night. [I personally find 4am is often productive for me, but that's because I work at night, and I'll only continue coding at 4am if I'm already in the zone. If I'm not making progress, I'll want to crash to sle…

Thanks for the recap. I was curious if global output peaked at 0400 UTC, but that's all.

Re: 4 a.m. Is the Most Productive Hour

#87

Post by flanfly » Tue, Aug 23, 2016, 10:36 PM UTC

throwaway26960 wrote: post #13

I recently started waking up at 4 a.m and go to bed at 8-9pm. It has done wonders for my life. I realized I was confusing my personal task list with my work task list - the two should not be confused. I complete all my personal tasks in the morning, such as, studying a new language, practicing a musical instrument, learning to draw, and a couple other skills I want to learn and improve. Then when I'm worn out and it'…

Some years ago I started my day at 4 a.m. to exercise. While it worked, this kept me from having any social life outside from talking to coworkers. Getting a drink with friends in the afternoon is impossible if you want to keep this schedule, so I stopped. Being productive isn't everything in life. I'm only 30 but I doubt I will ever look back wishing I worked harder alone in my room instead of being with my friends.

Re: 4 a.m. Is the Most Productive Hour

#88

Post by konschubert » Tue, Aug 23, 2016, 10:37 PM UTC

deanCommie wrote: post #85

jff wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Like most engineers and other creatives Free yourself of culturally-assigned norms ("engineers and creative people work best at midnight, with lots of coffee") and consider a wider breadth of experience. The most productive and effective person I know, a computer engineer, typically starts working before I'm even awake. The premise of the article is that 4 a.m. is both outside most of society's normal waking period…

First it was open floor office layouts, now it's morning productivity. Why can we not just agree that what works for one person does not for another. I have a mild form of attention deficit. When I am fully awake and alert, my mind races at a mile a minute, and I can't focus on any task for longer than a few minutes. It's great for email, but having a long deep uninterrupted think? Forget about it. So, I distract mys…

I am a night owl as well and I share your sentiment: Time seemingly stops when everybody goes to sleep. It is like a freeze button has been hit for the rest of the world, and the universe is mine.

Re: 4 a.m. Is the Most Productive Hour

#89

Post by Kenji » Tue, Aug 23, 2016, 10:45 PM UTC

throwaway26960 wrote: post #13

I recently started waking up at 4 a.m and go to bed at 8-9pm. It has done wonders for my life. I realized I was confusing my personal task list with my work task list - the two should not be confused. I complete all my personal tasks in the morning, such as, studying a new language, practicing a musical instrument, learning to draw, and a couple other skills I want to learn and improve. Then when I'm worn out and it'…

If I did that, I would not perform anywhere near the requirements at work.

Re: 4 a.m. Is the Most Productive Hour

#90

Post by enraged_camel » Tue, Aug 23, 2016, 10:51 PM UTC

jameslk wrote: post #34

I'm one of those unlucky types that have the hardest time waking up and getting going in the morning. Mentally I'm at 50% or less. Is there anyone else like this who's found techniques or other methods of overcoming the slow start?

A room facing east that gets plenty of natural sunlight is key for waking up early.

For a while I lived in an apartment where my bedroom faced east, and my bed was placed such that the first rays of light hit me straight in the eye. During that time, I miraculously became what's called a "morning person."

Then I moved to a house where my bedroom faced north, and the blinders on the only window in my room were a pain in the ass so I left them shut most of the time. I quickly reverted back to being a late-riser/night-owl.

Not everyone has control over the direction their room is facing, but you can still simulate daybreak using artificial sunlamps that are programmed to start lighting gradually at a designated time.