7 ms·

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 t

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's time for work, I'm greeted with a mile high todo list that never ends, but I feel satisfied knowing that at least I accomplished my goals for the day, which is all that matters. The mile high work task list will be there tomorrow... it'll always be there. It has allowed me to put myself first.

flanfly 10y ago
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.
- thegoodlab 10y ago
  Well getting drunk with friends in the afternoon doesn't seem like it's the answer to life either. I'm 31 and wake up at 5am during the week. Get to the gym before getting into the office at 7:30. Definitely have enough time to get drinks with friends here or there. I'm not staying out all night partying by any means, but there is certainly a way to make it work. “Looking back over a life of hard work … my only regret is that I didn’t work even harder.” - H. L. Mencken Sorry, I don't mean to troll, I just dislike the strawman argument of "[being productive/working/etc] isn't everything in life."
  - StavrosK 10y ago
    > Well getting drunk with friends in the afternoon doesn't seem like it's the answer to life either. Wow, the GP didn't say anything about getting drunk, so you managed to turn his comment into "hanging out with friends isn't the answer to life either". I beg to differ, it's a big part of the answer.
    - jessedhillon 10y ago
      You guys are going to be really surprised by this, but I swear it's true: the answer to life is different for each person
      - freehunter 10y ago
        Deep Thought told me it was 42.
        tomjakubowski 10y ago
        Watson told me it was 420. Must mean it's a 10x AI ;)
        vincnetas 10y ago
        4:20 ;)
      - sguav 10y ago
        > the answer to life is different for each person Robelt Waldinger seems to (partially) disagree: https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good_life_lessons_from_the_longest_study_on_happiness https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good...
        StavrosK 10y ago
        Summary: The secret to happiness is good relationships with other people, and the bane to happiness is loneliness. This agrees with my own observations as well.
  - JDiculous 10y ago
    > Top 5 Regrets of the Dying: (2) I wish I hadn’t worked so hard. (4) I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
    - nine_k 10y ago
      I suppose that people on their death bed are pretty much biased, hardly less than average population. Human memory is quite imperfect and selective.
      - RDeckard 10y ago
        Inevitably, some day, you will empathize.
        nine_k 10y ago
        Definitely! I have hard time understanding my future self, and my future self may have hard time understanding me as of now. People change, and what feels important at medium term (a few years) also changes. There's hardly a single right answer good for all ages.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
  - blubb-fish 10y ago
    > “Looking back over a life of hard work … my only regret is that I didn’t work even harder.” - H. L. Mencken I won't bother looking up quotes but you are going to find and endless list of quotes similar to ... “Looking back over a life of hard work … my only regret is that I didn’t spend more time with friends and family.” ... as well.
- kull 10y ago
  No need to do it 7 days a week. You wake up at 4 few days a week and sleep longer when u had drinks a day before. Maybe my social life really sucks but I don't really have more lets go for a drink invites than once a week.
  - nathanyo 10y ago
    Personally, changing my sleep schedule day to day almost never works. I usually end up going to bed and waking up about the same time regardless. Once I start waking up at 4am, I will always end up waking up at 4am.
  - cortesoft 10y ago
    I find I am much happier and better rested when I keep roughly the same sleep schedule every day of the week.
- Capt-RogerOver 10y ago
  While it surely sounds like a perfectly valid choice for you, it's worth to mention that another option is to actually get friends who have (or convert them into) a more healthy or otherwise desirable lifestyle as yourself. Then you can be with your friends at almost any time you want.
- hobo_mark 10y ago
  Where have to live (for work), there is nobody I'd want to hang out with, more than I want to do what I like after work, the decision is easier in such cases...
- welanes 10y ago
  > 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. I'm the opposite. At almost 30 I looked over a decade that has been awesome - friends, travel, girls etc - and decided to cut it all out as I create a software company. It's now 12 hours, 7 days a week, with a once-a-week break to meet a mate for lunch (and, eh, an occasional browse of HN). I figured if I could amplify future moments (more money, more freedom, more opportunity to meet people) by deferring enjoyment now it's totally worth the trade-off and that if I did not start I would look back in a year wishing I was working alone in my room. Moments with friends are great, and the memories are the fumes that keep me going when I might otherwise feel lonely or overwhelmed, yet swapping a year of after-work beers and hangovers for a shot at financial independence and self determination is worth it. Totally worth it. Plus any good friends will be there a year from now, and if the hustle pays off, those future moments will be much more enjoyable than any fun I might be missing out on.
  - dismantlethesun 10y ago
    > Plus any good friends will be there a year from now, and if the hustle pays off I like how you've implied at least the hustle is temporary. Too often people look at work vs life, as something that either (a) must be in balance at all times or (b) must sacrifice one for the other ad infinitum.
  - leesalminen 10y ago
    > Plus any good friends will be there a year from now It's been 17 months since I made a similar decision. I'm not entirely sure if my friends will be there when I come out the other side. They think I "hate" them because I've decided to put work before life.
    - noobiemcfoob 10y ago
      While I don't like the phrasing "work before life", I can sympathize with friends not understanding. I experienced the same thing when I began really focusing on my career. In the end, I decided those friends were trapped in their own perceptions of what our relationship was supposed to look like. The true friends were the ones who simply said, "yeah, I noticed you buckling down. You do you; I'll see you next month"
Kenji 10y ago
If I did that, I would not perform anywhere near the requirements at work.
elorant 10y ago
I’ve tried something similar for a while. On the plus side the day seems to last longer because you get a lot of productive work early in the morning when everyone is asleep. On the other hand it seriously fucked up my social life. When everyone is out having a drink or whatnot you’re heading home to get some sleep. The only way I could make it work is to sleep during midday so I can stay up a bit longer in the evening. But even that doesn’t seem to work that good because by 11pm you’re already dead meat. Nowadays I only use it in urgent situations when I have to get a lot of work done and never for more than two months.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
restalis 10y ago
"Then when I'm worn out and it's time for work" "I feel satisfied knowing that at least I accomplished my goals for the day, which is all that matters." So, you're basically selling your least productive time and you're saying this is OK. You must be one of those folks who detest their job to do that. Please change your job. First, this may give you an opportunity to do something more enjoyable and leave what you currently do vacant for someone else who'll enjoy it more. Second, if you do your paid job well enough despite being "worn out", then you're not using your full potential, which is a pity. Do yourself and others a favor.
- sangnoir 10y ago
  > So, you're basically selling your least productive time and you're saying this is OK I don't see what the problem is here, unless he signed a contract that said he'd give his best hours to the employer. > Second, if you do your paid job well enough despite being "worn out", then you're not using your full potential, which is a pity. No one hires you to "use your full potential" - they hire you to do your job. What would be the problem if Albert Einstein were to teach jnr high school[1] science and doodling away on his personal theoretical physics at 4AM? I see no ethical quagmire of putting ones' interest before the employers while fulfilling the prescribed duties, especially when considering the power balance and the fact that the other party in this relationship is usually a soulless legal construct that puts itself (and shareholders) before any employee. 1. or a Swedish patent office
  - restalis 10y ago
    "No one hires you to «use your full potential» - they hire you to do your job. What would be the problem if Albert Einstein were to teach jnr high school science and doodling away on his personal theoretical physics at 4AM?" I wasn't caring about the employer on that particular statement, it was about living one's full potential in general. And for Einstein parable, in practice what you do often gets on your mind before something else, it's basically the opposite of "out of sight out of mind". "I see no ethical quagmire of putting ones' interest before the employers while fulfilling the prescribed duties, especially when considering the power balance and the fact that the other party in this relationship is usually a soulless legal construct that puts itself (and shareholders) before any employee." You've laid out a battlefield here, a context of conflicting interests or a situation with opposing parties at least. My advice was to get away from that, because that is not worth anyone's involvement. Change jobs, do something you enjoy and care to get involved into.

flanfly 10y ago

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.

thegoodlab 10y ago
Well getting drunk with friends in the afternoon doesn't seem like it's the answer to life either. I'm 31 and wake up at 5am during the week. Get to the gym before getting into the office at 7:30. Definitely have enough time to get drinks with friends here or there. I'm not staying out all night partying by any means, but there is certainly a way to make it work. “Looking back over a life of hard work … my only regret is that I didn’t work even harder.” - H. L. Mencken Sorry, I don't mean to troll, I just dislike the strawman argument of "[being productive/working/etc] isn't everything in life."
- StavrosK 10y ago
  > Well getting drunk with friends in the afternoon doesn't seem like it's the answer to life either. Wow, the GP didn't say anything about getting drunk, so you managed to turn his comment into "hanging out with friends isn't the answer to life either". I beg to differ, it's a big part of the answer.
  - jessedhillon 10y ago
    You guys are going to be really surprised by this, but I swear it's true: the answer to life is different for each person
    - freehunter 10y ago
      Deep Thought told me it was 42.
      - tomjakubowski 10y ago
        Watson told me it was 420. Must mean it's a 10x AI ;)
        vincnetas 10y ago
        4:20 ;)
    - sguav 10y ago
      > the answer to life is different for each person Robelt Waldinger seems to (partially) disagree: https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good_life_lessons_from_the_longest_study_on_happiness https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good...
      - StavrosK 10y ago
        Summary: The secret to happiness is good relationships with other people, and the bane to happiness is loneliness. This agrees with my own observations as well.
- JDiculous 10y ago
  > Top 5 Regrets of the Dying: (2) I wish I hadn’t worked so hard. (4) I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
  - nine_k 10y ago
    I suppose that people on their death bed are pretty much biased, hardly less than average population. Human memory is quite imperfect and selective.
    - RDeckard 10y ago
      Inevitably, some day, you will empathize.
      - nine_k 10y ago
        Definitely! I have hard time understanding my future self, and my future self may have hard time understanding me as of now. People change, and what feels important at medium term (a few years) also changes. There's hardly a single right answer good for all ages.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- blubb-fish 10y ago
  > “Looking back over a life of hard work … my only regret is that I didn’t work even harder.” - H. L. Mencken I won't bother looking up quotes but you are going to find and endless list of quotes similar to ... “Looking back over a life of hard work … my only regret is that I didn’t spend more time with friends and family.” ... as well.
kull 10y ago
No need to do it 7 days a week. You wake up at 4 few days a week and sleep longer when u had drinks a day before. Maybe my social life really sucks but I don't really have more lets go for a drink invites than once a week.
- nathanyo 10y ago
  Personally, changing my sleep schedule day to day almost never works. I usually end up going to bed and waking up about the same time regardless. Once I start waking up at 4am, I will always end up waking up at 4am.
- cortesoft 10y ago
  I find I am much happier and better rested when I keep roughly the same sleep schedule every day of the week.
Capt-RogerOver 10y ago
While it surely sounds like a perfectly valid choice for you, it's worth to mention that another option is to actually get friends who have (or convert them into) a more healthy or otherwise desirable lifestyle as yourself. Then you can be with your friends at almost any time you want.
hobo_mark 10y ago
Where have to live (for work), there is nobody I'd want to hang out with, more than I want to do what I like after work, the decision is easier in such cases...
welanes 10y ago
> 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. I'm the opposite. At almost 30 I looked over a decade that has been awesome - friends, travel, girls etc - and decided to cut it all out as I create a software company. It's now 12 hours, 7 days a week, with a once-a-week break to meet a mate for lunch (and, eh, an occasional browse of HN). I figured if I could amplify future moments (more money, more freedom, more opportunity to meet people) by deferring enjoyment now it's totally worth the trade-off and that if I did not start I would look back in a year wishing I was working alone in my room. Moments with friends are great, and the memories are the fumes that keep me going when I might otherwise feel lonely or overwhelmed, yet swapping a year of after-work beers and hangovers for a shot at financial independence and self determination is worth it. Totally worth it. Plus any good friends will be there a year from now, and if the hustle pays off, those future moments will be much more enjoyable than any fun I might be missing out on.
- dismantlethesun 10y ago
  > Plus any good friends will be there a year from now, and if the hustle pays off I like how you've implied at least the hustle is temporary. Too often people look at work vs life, as something that either (a) must be in balance at all times or (b) must sacrifice one for the other ad infinitum.
- leesalminen 10y ago
  > Plus any good friends will be there a year from now It's been 17 months since I made a similar decision. I'm not entirely sure if my friends will be there when I come out the other side. They think I "hate" them because I've decided to put work before life.
  - noobiemcfoob 10y ago
    While I don't like the phrasing "work before life", I can sympathize with friends not understanding. I experienced the same thing when I began really focusing on my career. In the end, I decided those friends were trapped in their own perceptions of what our relationship was supposed to look like. The true friends were the ones who simply said, "yeah, I noticed you buckling down. You do you; I'll see you next month"

Kenji 10y ago

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

elorant 10y ago

I’ve tried something similar for a while. On the plus side the day seems to last longer because you get a lot of productive work early in the morning when everyone is asleep. On the other hand it seriously fucked up my social life. When everyone is out having a drink or whatnot you’re heading home to get some sleep. The only way I could make it work is to sleep during midday so I can stay up a bit longer in the evening. But even that doesn’t seem to work that good because by 11pm you’re already dead meat. Nowadays I only use it in urgent situations when I have to get a lot of work done and never for more than two months.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

restalis 10y ago

"Then when I'm worn out and it's time for work" "I feel satisfied knowing that at least I accomplished my goals for the day, which is all that matters." So, you're basically selling your least productive time and you're saying this is OK. You must be one of those folks who detest their job to do that. Please change your job. First, this may give you an opportunity to do something more enjoyable and leave what you currently do vacant for someone else who'll enjoy it more. Second, if you do your paid job well enough despite being "worn out", then you're not using your full potential, which is a pity. Do yourself and others a favor.

sangnoir 10y ago
> So, you're basically selling your least productive time and you're saying this is OK I don't see what the problem is here, unless he signed a contract that said he'd give his best hours to the employer. > Second, if you do your paid job well enough despite being "worn out", then you're not using your full potential, which is a pity. No one hires you to "use your full potential" - they hire you to do your job. What would be the problem if Albert Einstein were to teach jnr high school[1] science and doodling away on his personal theoretical physics at 4AM? I see no ethical quagmire of putting ones' interest before the employers while fulfilling the prescribed duties, especially when considering the power balance and the fact that the other party in this relationship is usually a soulless legal construct that puts itself (and shareholders) before any employee. 1. or a Swedish patent office
- restalis 10y ago
  "No one hires you to «use your full potential» - they hire you to do your job. What would be the problem if Albert Einstein were to teach jnr high school science and doodling away on his personal theoretical physics at 4AM?" I wasn't caring about the employer on that particular statement, it was about living one's full potential in general. And for Einstein parable, in practice what you do often gets on your mind before something else, it's basically the opposite of "out of sight out of mind". "I see no ethical quagmire of putting ones' interest before the employers while fulfilling the prescribed duties, especially when considering the power balance and the fact that the other party in this relationship is usually a soulless legal construct that puts itself (and shareholders) before any employee." You've laid out a battlefield here, a context of conflicting interests or a situation with opposing parties at least. My advice was to get away from that, because that is not worth anyone's involvement. Change jobs, do something you enjoy and care to get involved into.