Should I Work at 3 a.m.?
Two takes on working in the wee hours…
On the one hand:
For night owls like [Mike] Faith [of Headsets.com], 8-to-5 is now a prelude to the 9 p.m. to midnight (or later) shift when they finally have some quiet time to think, work and plan. “Distractions during the day make it impossible to work on larger projects or [tasks] that require more complex thinking,” says Jonathan Kramer, Ph.D., founder of San Diego-based Business Psychology Consulting. At night, he says, entrepreneurs “can do a more effective and efficient job.”
On the other hand:
Susan Battley, founder and CEO of Battley Performance Consulting in Stony Brook, New York, hears about people gutting their late-night work the next day, however. “It proved to be tangential, faulty or irrelevant,” says Battley, who suggests entrepreneurs delay sending important e-mails and reports until they can read them with fresh eyes.
Ultimately, you have to know your workstyle to make late-night sessions productive, Kramer says.
Source: Bring On the Night, in Entrepreneur magazine, April 2007.
Kramer’s final point makes much sense: what works for you? And if you do like the late night focus time, how do you make sure you get rest time, also, when the 9-5 world assumes they can have your attention during regular work hours?
Battley makes two observations in one: (1) if you’re trying to create “finished” work, there’s not much point in doing it when you’re tired, and (2) final products often require a final review (with fresh eyes, whether yours or someone else’s). And that review requires time, preferably scheduled in advance.
