4 ms·

I don't agree that cognition is best during the afternoon. I have my best concentration and work effort from 9-noon.

pc86 9y ago
I think at least part of this is age and habit. In college my best period of concentration and work was roughly 11-3 or so. I was also ~20 years old and had trouble going to bed before midnight or waking up before 9. A decade later and after military service the lion's share of my day job work is done between 7 and 10 in the morning, and it's rare that I'm not up, dressed and showered by 6:30am or asleep by 10pm.
- marssaxman 9y ago
  Individual experiences vary widely; I am 41 now and still have just as much trouble going to bed before midnight or waking up before 9 as I did in my 20s. It still takes effort to restrain my impulse to stay up all night, in fact, whenever there's something remotely interesting or creative I could be working on instead of sleeping. It is not simply a matter of habits, either; I spent most of seven years getting up in time for a 7 AM conference call every work day, and it never got any easier. As soon as that was over, I went right back to my old schedule. Perhaps it's less of a struggle to fit my life into normal business hours now, after years of experience trying to do it, but that's really just a matter of coping skills; my body clock remains as stubbornly nocturnal as it has ever been.
fhood 9y ago
I know a lot of people who feel the same as you. That said, I can't really think until around 2 in the afternoon.
- WalterSear 9y ago
  May I suggest you look into intermittent fasting? I stopped eating from 10pm until 2 pm, and it has changed my relationship to mornings entirely. It took a couple of days to for the hunger urgency to subside, and about a week before I started feeling more energetic and focused. Most mornings, my breakfast is a cup of black coffee now.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - slededit 9y ago
    Why must we make everyone fit the mold of a morning person. Working better in the afternoons/evenings is not a moral failing.
    - WalterSear 9y ago
      This doesn't. However, I'm now effective in the mornings, >and< afternoons. I do a great deal of programming in the late evenings too, these days.
Clubber 9y ago
I read somewhere that the best time to learn something is right when you wake up. I tested that theory when I was picking up ObjC a few years ago and it seems right (perhaps a placebo).
- kwoff 9y ago
  "I read somewhere that" I can justify anything by that, especially anectodally.
ForRealsies 9y ago
Exactly. After I eat a real meal (lunch), my caveman brain declares 'Mission Success' and I'm done for the day.
tbihl 9y ago
Very much agreed. I'm iffy from 5-7 (some days great, some days too tired), fairly productive 7-1230, nearly worthless 1230-2, then pretty effective until 4 or 5.

pc86 9y ago

I think at least part of this is age and habit. In college my best period of concentration and work was roughly 11-3 or so. I was also ~20 years old and had trouble going to bed before midnight or waking up before 9. A decade later and after military service the lion's share of my day job work is done between 7 and 10 in the morning, and it's rare that I'm not up, dressed and showered by 6:30am or asleep by 10pm.

marssaxman 9y ago
Individual experiences vary widely; I am 41 now and still have just as much trouble going to bed before midnight or waking up before 9 as I did in my 20s. It still takes effort to restrain my impulse to stay up all night, in fact, whenever there's something remotely interesting or creative I could be working on instead of sleeping. It is not simply a matter of habits, either; I spent most of seven years getting up in time for a 7 AM conference call every work day, and it never got any easier. As soon as that was over, I went right back to my old schedule. Perhaps it's less of a struggle to fit my life into normal business hours now, after years of experience trying to do it, but that's really just a matter of coping skills; my body clock remains as stubbornly nocturnal as it has ever been.

fhood 9y ago

I know a lot of people who feel the same as you. That said, I can't really think until around 2 in the afternoon.

WalterSear 9y ago
May I suggest you look into intermittent fasting? I stopped eating from 10pm until 2 pm, and it has changed my relationship to mornings entirely. It took a couple of days to for the hunger urgency to subside, and about a week before I started feeling more energetic and focused. Most mornings, my breakfast is a cup of black coffee now.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- slededit 9y ago
  Why must we make everyone fit the mold of a morning person. Working better in the afternoons/evenings is not a moral failing.
  - WalterSear 9y ago
    This doesn't. However, I'm now effective in the mornings, >and< afternoons. I do a great deal of programming in the late evenings too, these days.

Clubber 9y ago

I read somewhere that the best time to learn something is right when you wake up. I tested that theory when I was picking up ObjC a few years ago and it seems right (perhaps a placebo).

kwoff 9y ago
"I read somewhere that" I can justify anything by that, especially anectodally.

ForRealsies 9y ago

Exactly. After I eat a real meal (lunch), my caveman brain declares 'Mission Success' and I'm done for the day.

tbihl 9y ago

Very much agreed. I'm iffy from 5-7 (some days great, some days too tired), fairly productive 7-1230, nearly worthless 1230-2, then pretty effective until 4 or 5.