Night Owl Realities
It’s 1:20am on a Tuesday night. These days, this doesn’t even feel late to me. My modus operandi is generally to start getting really excited about something (a project, a book, a blog post) around 1am, and then completely lose track of time until 3am, at which point societal pressure and guilt push me to start winding down.
Several years ago I wrote a post entitled “I don’t want your stupid worm! A rant on waking up early.” I don’t want to beat a dead worm, but I do have a useful little tip sheet for my fellow Night Owls suffering under the burden of a society obsessed with productive mornings.
10 thoughts on being a Successful Night Owl.
I’m starting to believe that 9 hours of sleep is the perfect minimum amount. Yeah, you read that right: minimum. I highly recommend the book “Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams” by Sleep Diplomat Matt Walker.
With this in mind, it’s critical to build in time for sleep based on your personal sleep cycle. Is your head hitting your pillow at 2am? Then set that alarm clock for 11am! Being sleep deprived is terrible for your brain, and awful on your skin: there are zero benefits to sleeping less than 8 hours, and the “Oh, I’m SO under-slept and busy” trope is—literally—tired.
Work: One of the main things that makes waking up late stressful on a Night Owl is the thought of the email demands of Early Birds piling up in your Inbox. To avoid this work stress, I have several recommendations:
Silence! Protect the Sleep: keep everything on silent and turn off all notifications. I’ve found an ambient noise machine to also be very helpful for keeping out the Early Bird ruckus as they zoom around in their cars and jackhammer roads outside your window (and to think they complain about our parties!).
Be the boss of your calendar: book a repeating “meeting” in your calendar for every morning until noon. No one needs to know that the meeting is with your bed, and it’s none of their business anyway!
Petition for a later start time, beg for late shifts, and in every way possible optimize your life for your Night Owl reality. Don’t let an Early Bird bully you into a situation that turns you into a zombie: advocate for yourself and remember that there is nothing inherently moral, good or valiant about waking up early.
Kids? Based on my non-expert experience, being a night owl, getting 9-hours of sleep per night, AND having children, are incompatible realities. I personally prefer to live child-and-fancy-free, but I will let you weigh those decisions on your own scales.
Pets? Yes, depending: cats are the natural companion of the sleep-loving Night Owl. I only recommend a dog if you have an Early Bird partner that’s willing to (quietly) take them for their early morning walk so their borking does not awaken you from your sweet, sweet late morning slumber.
Bedroom design: blackout curtains are a must. As previously mentioned, ambient noise machines are also highly recommended. A cool room can really help (60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit, or 16 to 19 degrees Celsius, is optimal).
Sometimes, on occasion, you will undoubtedly have to wake up early: an unavoidable morning flight, emergency appendicitis, etc. And I’m really sorry about this (particularly the appendicitis).
If anyone is annoying enough to remind you of false societal tropes such as “the early bird gets the worm!” please feel free to clarify that you have no interest in worms, and that the late riser gets fucking BRUNCH!
There are few things as delightful as writing a blog post in the silence of 2:30 am, with no email, phone or meeting distractions.
Don’t let the Early Bird Man get you down.
