3 ms·

For all those in their early 20's who are reading this - you should know one thing. Nature has blessed you with the ability to stay up late and still get thing

by brc 16y ago

For all those in their early 20's who are reading this - you should know one thing. Nature has blessed you with the ability to stay up late and still get things done the next day. Most people in their twenties abuse this skill and go out partying all night. I know I did a lot of that. The reason you have this skill is because it's designed for child-rearing in your 20's. That's my hypothesis. People with children don't get much sleep. So either use this skill to push your career/skills forward, or use it to raise small children while you're still young. Either way will leave you better off. If you push hard to make some money, and then have kids, maybe you won't need to work 9-5 when you do have kids. If you have your kids early, then you'll have the time and energy to put into your work when you're a bit older, because your kids won't be draining your energy. The sub optimal solution is to have your kids later on, at the same time you realise you need to work hard to push ahead. That's doubly taxing and twice as hard.

callmeed 16y ago
It's a weird thing though ... now that I'm 35 I definitely can't bang out work until 3am like I used to 10 years ago. On the other hand, I have significantly more knowledge and better methods than I did then. It's a bit unfair.
- brc 16y ago
  Youth is wasted on the young - my new favourite saying. Somehow a young person has to work out a way to hack the process, by gaining wisdom and maturity before their youth has run out, and apply it successfully. (and, to be fair, 35 is still young). To be more correct, someone in their 20's need to work out how to think like someone in their 30's or 40's, before they turn 30. Young people who do that are going to be successful, no doubt. The big problem is that a 20 year old has to listen to, and accept advice from, a 40 year, something many have problems with.
  - billswift 16y ago
    Getting the young to have the experiences of the older and wiser is never going to happen. It is more productive to retain or regain whatever you consider the value of being young into old age. Personally, except for some aches and pains in my joints, I haven't noticed any real decrease in any of my abilities as I have gotten older.
- billswift 16y ago
  I'm 49 and I have less trouble staying up late or even working around the clock than I did in my twenties. I think a lot of the age-related difference is just opportunity and desire. Do to a combination of traveling and working in April of 2005, it happened that I ended up staying awake for 40 hours, I was a bit flaky by the time I got to sleep it out, but could have stayed up longer if I had needed to.
  - dabent 16y ago
    I'm the same way. I didn't stay up late much in college, but I'm up far later than I should be now getting side projects done.
- hellweaver666 16y ago
  I'm the same... I'm 29 and have a new-born, I really struggle to make it through the day without a nap these days. When I was 22, I could easily get up at 8am, and work till 4am five days a week, then go out and hammer it at night clubs until the wee hours at the weekend with a bit of a rest on Sunday. Now I'm lucky, if I can stay away until 11pm.
- silverbax88 16y ago
  I can bang out work much faster, more professionally and downright efficiently than I ever could at 20. I'm 39 and I can, and do, run rings around kids right out of college. I always have an answer for people who try to act like putting in long hours makes them a better employee, or more dedicated, "if you can't get your work done, give it to me and I'll do it, and still leave on time every day. Then they can cut your salary and give half of it to me."
metamemetics 16y ago
In my early 20s and "nature" has definitely not blessed me with any productive hours of energy to forgo sleep. I attribute it all to caffeine, D3+Calcium, B12, and being in an environment where its socially normal to be heading to a coffee shop at 11:30pm or library at 1am.
- metamemetics 16y ago
  No caffeine\supplements (2-4 weeks off to account for any withdrawal effects) or knowing friends who are also up late, I default to 10 hours of sleep and am also less productive. [If you want to live an Erdos lifestyle, I imagine you can maintain late night productivity very late in life with only slight, completely-unavoidable age related decline. While this lifestyle is socially expected of college age students or the norm, it's socially discouraged and deviant for older Americans ... I think social causations should be slightly more heavily weighted than an age based causations]
- brc 16y ago
  You think you need a lot of sleep now. I've got news for you : it's going to get worse as you get older. Everyone has different sleep needs - but it's pretty much a given that you'll need more of it the older you get.

by brc 16y ago

callmeed 16y ago

It's a weird thing though ... now that I'm 35 I definitely can't bang out work until 3am like I used to 10 years ago. On the other hand, I have significantly more knowledge and better methods than I did then. It's a bit unfair.

brc 16y ago
Youth is wasted on the young - my new favourite saying. Somehow a young person has to work out a way to hack the process, by gaining wisdom and maturity before their youth has run out, and apply it successfully. (and, to be fair, 35 is still young). To be more correct, someone in their 20's need to work out how to think like someone in their 30's or 40's, before they turn 30. Young people who do that are going to be successful, no doubt. The big problem is that a 20 year old has to listen to, and accept advice from, a 40 year, something many have problems with.
- billswift 16y ago
  Getting the young to have the experiences of the older and wiser is never going to happen. It is more productive to retain or regain whatever you consider the value of being young into old age. Personally, except for some aches and pains in my joints, I haven't noticed any real decrease in any of my abilities as I have gotten older.
billswift 16y ago
I'm 49 and I have less trouble staying up late or even working around the clock than I did in my twenties. I think a lot of the age-related difference is just opportunity and desire. Do to a combination of traveling and working in April of 2005, it happened that I ended up staying awake for 40 hours, I was a bit flaky by the time I got to sleep it out, but could have stayed up longer if I had needed to.
- dabent 16y ago
  I'm the same way. I didn't stay up late much in college, but I'm up far later than I should be now getting side projects done.
hellweaver666 16y ago
I'm the same... I'm 29 and have a new-born, I really struggle to make it through the day without a nap these days. When I was 22, I could easily get up at 8am, and work till 4am five days a week, then go out and hammer it at night clubs until the wee hours at the weekend with a bit of a rest on Sunday. Now I'm lucky, if I can stay away until 11pm.
silverbax88 16y ago
I can bang out work much faster, more professionally and downright efficiently than I ever could at 20. I'm 39 and I can, and do, run rings around kids right out of college. I always have an answer for people who try to act like putting in long hours makes them a better employee, or more dedicated, "if you can't get your work done, give it to me and I'll do it, and still leave on time every day. Then they can cut your salary and give half of it to me."

metamemetics 16y ago

In my early 20s and "nature" has definitely not blessed me with any productive hours of energy to forgo sleep. I attribute it all to caffeine, D3+Calcium, B12, and being in an environment where its socially normal to be heading to a coffee shop at 11:30pm or library at 1am.

metamemetics 16y ago
No caffeine\supplements (2-4 weeks off to account for any withdrawal effects) or knowing friends who are also up late, I default to 10 hours of sleep and am also less productive. [If you want to live an Erdos lifestyle, I imagine you can maintain late night productivity very late in life with only slight, completely-unavoidable age related decline. While this lifestyle is socially expected of college age students or the norm, it's socially discouraged and deviant for older Americans ... I think social causations should be slightly more heavily weighted than an age based causations]
brc 16y ago
You think you need a lot of sleep now. I've got news for you : it's going to get worse as you get older. Everyone has different sleep needs - but it's pretty much a given that you'll need more of it the older you get.