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Wow, this perfectly describes me. Although, I usually don't have to stay up till 2AM to get that productivity boost. I know it sounds strange, but when it gets

Wow, this perfectly describes me. Although, I usually don't have to stay up till 2AM to get that productivity boost. I know it sounds strange, but when it gets dark outside, my productivity is so much better. I don't think it has much to do with the darkness itself. It is probably the fact that when it gets dark, the flood of Slack messages, E-mails and whatnot stops. I am terrified of how I am going to manage this when I have kids. It's just me and my fiance right now. We both work at the same company and we're both very career driven. It's not a problem yet.

mikhailfranco 7y ago
When you start a family I strongly recommend this pattern: Always, always, go home for dinner and put the kids to bed, then go back to work. If you can work from home, this is relatively easy. If you have to be at work, it involves an extra commute, which may or may not be possible. If it is not currently possible, I would anyway recommend making your commute shorter, or negligible if possible, because it will make your life so much better. As a personal anecdote, I used to commute to work by bicycle. So I would cycle home for dinner with the family. Then I would drive back to work, which was relatively short (~10mi, 15km). Sometimes, if I worked right through the night, I would drive home at dawn, change clothes, and jump on the bike to go back to work (single car family). Yes, tiring, but I was young at the time - couldn't do that now.
- photonios 7y ago
  Thanks for the advice! I'll try to remember that when that time comes. Luckily I hate commuting so I will do everything to avoid long commutes. Currently takes me <15minutes to get to the office. You don't happen to live in the Netherlands? It's not often that I see people calling 15km "short".
  - mikhailfranco 7y ago
    No, it was in USA. It was short when driving :) One route was Natick-Weston-Waltham, MA, so quite tough fighting with the snow (and snowplows) in the winter. Another was MillValley-Sausalito-SF, including the time the Golden Gate was closed to bikes after 9/11. So all Marin cyclists had to cross the bridge on a free shuttle bus, which towed a bike rack trailer. Not so young any more, but recently changed job, and started a 15 km bike commute again ...
- tilolebo 7y ago
  I can only second that. I regularly leave the office a bit earlier to pick up my kids from school and spend some time with my family, then I work again 1 or 2 hours in the evening. I would not do that on a daily basis though, it's also nice to spend time with your partner once the kids are asleep.

mikhailfranco 7y ago

When you start a family I strongly recommend this pattern: Always, always, go home for dinner and put the kids to bed, then go back to work. If you can work from home, this is relatively easy. If you have to be at work, it involves an extra commute, which may or may not be possible. If it is not currently possible, I would anyway recommend making your commute shorter, or negligible if possible, because it will make your life so much better. As a personal anecdote, I used to commute to work by bicycle. So I would cycle home for dinner with the family. Then I would drive back to work, which was relatively short (~10mi, 15km). Sometimes, if I worked right through the night, I would drive home at dawn, change clothes, and jump on the bike to go back to work (single car family). Yes, tiring, but I was young at the time - couldn't do that now.

photonios 7y ago
Thanks for the advice! I'll try to remember that when that time comes. Luckily I hate commuting so I will do everything to avoid long commutes. Currently takes me <15minutes to get to the office. You don't happen to live in the Netherlands? It's not often that I see people calling 15km "short".
- mikhailfranco 7y ago
  No, it was in USA. It was short when driving :) One route was Natick-Weston-Waltham, MA, so quite tough fighting with the snow (and snowplows) in the winter. Another was MillValley-Sausalito-SF, including the time the Golden Gate was closed to bikes after 9/11. So all Marin cyclists had to cross the bridge on a free shuttle bus, which towed a bike rack trailer. Not so young any more, but recently changed job, and started a 15 km bike commute again ...
tilolebo 7y ago
I can only second that. I regularly leave the office a bit earlier to pick up my kids from school and spend some time with my family, then I work again 1 or 2 hours in the evening. I would not do that on a daily basis though, it's also nice to spend time with your partner once the kids are asleep.