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I've tried this approach and others. I'm sure for some it can work but ultimately I found you can't cheat time. If you wake up at 5am by 2pm you toast (mentally

I've tried this approach and others. I'm sure for some it can work but ultimately I found you can't cheat time. If you wake up at 5am by 2pm you toast (mentally at least). I've found no real secret to gain extra real hours. The reality is that your mind can only function productively for so long each day. The productivity you feel at 5am is the same you'd feel at 8:00am it just seems more amazing because it's happening at 5. The bottom line is you have to find what is sustainable in the long run. Regardless of how early or late you wake up the key is coming up with a consistant schedule that maximizes your productivity. Only you can figure out what the schedule is. It's certainly great to try new things and see what ends up working for you. Good luck.

GigabyteCoin 15y ago
If you wake up at any time of the day, mid way through it (no matter when) your brain "is toast". That is why so many sleep scientists suggest naps is because they have proven that naps are beneficial to mental fatigue.
- pjscott 15y ago
  Really? My brain is semi-toast until about the middle of the day.
  - Inversechi 15y ago
    I'm exactly the same. I'm not a morning person and I can't seem to change this :(
  - enqk 15y ago
    Maybe due to over use of caffeine?
    - nkoren 15y ago
      I'm the same way, and my friends had the same reaction as you. They suggested that if I cut out caffeine and sugar then my body's own natural energy would resurface, and I'd stop being so groggy until the mid-afternoon. So, I listened to them, and for 9 months I consumed no stimulants at all. After 9 months of this experiment, I was -- and I know the story isn't supposed to work this way, but it did -- consistently groggier and crankier than I had ever been before. So I went back to caffeine and have had no second thoughts about it since.
      - hopeseekr 15y ago
        I say with conviction (having the same experience) that this is because your endocrine hormonal system is seriously out of whack. Probably hypothyroidism, but possibly hypopituitiarism or even lack of testosterone. Go see an endocrinologist, stat! Your quality of life, and even longevity, could be at serious peril.
        nkoren 15y ago
        Hm. You may have a point. This was back when I lived in America, and seeing an endocrinologist would have required winning the lottery or something. Now that I'm living in a more civilised country, perhaps I'll give it a try...
      - enqk 15y ago
        Ok, the only other reason I notice sometimes long bouts of tiredness during morning, is when my wake up time is badly chosen. Do you wake up with an alarm? Try to wake up on your own before it rings. Waking up in certain cycles of your sleep will turn one into a sort of morning zombie ;)
    - pjscott 15y ago
      I've been like this for as long as I can remember, so caffeine isn't it.
      - hopeseekr 15y ago
        Normal endocrine systems peak at around 3 AM and are at their lowest at around 3 PM. If you happen to wake up at 5 AM vs 8 AM, you will feel more energetic. This is because, historically, our main predators were nocturnal, while we hunted almost exclusively in the two twilights (we have substantially better twilight vision than virtually any animal). So when the wolves came at 3 AM we'd be at our most energetic and when it's relatively safe (3 PM in daylight year round), we'd be taking a ciesta. If your body is off hormonally, grogginess throughout the day is a primary sign. When my body was substantially off from ages 18-24, I actually became completely nocturnal, just because 12-5 AM were the only times I felt anywhere near energetic.
        pjscott 15y ago
        Huh. Your description of normal actually matches up pretty well with what I experience. Throw in some bedtime-drift, and you have a pretty good description of me. Thanks, this had been kind of worrying me a bit. (I've always wondered why waking up at 6 AM was so much easier than waking up at 8 AM. It was baffling.)
  - roel_v 15y ago
    Do you wake up with an alarm or 'naturally'?
- readme 15y ago
  This. I personally take a 1-2 hour nap between 4-5 hour coding sessions. Being a freelancer facilitates this. Also, this infographic about naps is great: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/naps/ http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/naps/
- sreitshamer 15y ago
  My friend going to law school said she can study for 4-5 hours in a row, fully focused. But then she needs a break, for 2 hours ideally. Then she can do another 4-5 hours. After that, another break. Usually she can do a third 4-5 hours. That's 12-15 hours of full-focus time per day, which to me sounds like a ton.
  - roel_v 15y ago
    Studying law is very systematic through (even more than other 'types' of studying). You outline as you go through the material, then revise outlines, then do test exams and repeat where necessary. Things that are very routine to do, even if they involve sitting at a desk, don't take nearly as much focus/willpower as 'creative' things where you need to decide what to do next, and think of new ideas on how to do it, every couple of minutes.
akurilin 15y ago
My personal experience is somewhat analogous to yours. As someone who's working full-time and doing part-time graduate school, I have to ensure that I get at least 8-10 hours of sleep daily to stay sharp throughout the day (haven't quite figured out the whole nap thing yet). It also really helps if you do something like lifting 2-3 days a week so that you're able to endure these 60-80 hour weeks better. I'd say the big advantage of 5am is that nobody's there to bother you, but you could probably pull off the same 2 hours of personal work / day if you were to work after 6pm.
peteretep 15y ago
I dunno, I've found I can make it work with progress. I get up at 6am, generally do 30 minutes of waking up admin (usually with an Anki/SuperMemo session thrown in), and then try and get a good two hours of work in, before heading to the day job. You can't do this if you're not willing to go to bed early and eat well, too, though. And if you're still drinking alcohol during the week ... well, you have too much free time :-) I find a heavy workout at lunch time keeps me going after lunch. What amazed me most about the OP was he updates his todos ... while watching TV? And squeezes his reading time for that? How do you find time to cook healthy food? See friends? Spend quality time with the girlfriend? Watching TV isn't inherently bad, but if you're doing it regularly, you've got waaay too much free time.
nodemaker 15y ago
The point is that the hours between 5 am to 9 am should be more productive for the majority of people (assuming everyone else you know is sleeping at that time) than say the hours between 9 pm to 1 am when most of us can hardly get anything done. But I agree with your premise that maximum productivity is achieved when one finds his/her best schedule and sticks to it.
danmaz74 15y ago
I've been waking up at 6 am for three months now (on weekends, 6:30 or 7, depending at what time I can get to bed). I'm getti to sleep earlier than usual though - I would be a night owl myself. The most difficult part for me, actually, is to force myself to go to bed no later than 23:00 :)
AznHisoka 15y ago
Waking up early entails sleeping early, and I find that for every hour you sleep before 12, it counts as 2 hours, not 1.. I just feel more refreshed the earlier I sleep.
- gsharm 15y ago
  It was Benjamin Franklin that seemed to have first documented this effect. He had a nice routine going too: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickbilton/3779169741/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickbilton/3779169741/ To think he did this in the 1700s. So far ahead of his time.

GigabyteCoin 15y ago

If you wake up at any time of the day, mid way through it (no matter when) your brain "is toast". That is why so many sleep scientists suggest naps is because they have proven that naps are beneficial to mental fatigue.

pjscott 15y ago
Really? My brain is semi-toast until about the middle of the day.
- Inversechi 15y ago
  I'm exactly the same. I'm not a morning person and I can't seem to change this :(
- enqk 15y ago
  Maybe due to over use of caffeine?
  - nkoren 15y ago
    I'm the same way, and my friends had the same reaction as you. They suggested that if I cut out caffeine and sugar then my body's own natural energy would resurface, and I'd stop being so groggy until the mid-afternoon. So, I listened to them, and for 9 months I consumed no stimulants at all. After 9 months of this experiment, I was -- and I know the story isn't supposed to work this way, but it did -- consistently groggier and crankier than I had ever been before. So I went back to caffeine and have had no second thoughts about it since.
    - hopeseekr 15y ago
      I say with conviction (having the same experience) that this is because your endocrine hormonal system is seriously out of whack. Probably hypothyroidism, but possibly hypopituitiarism or even lack of testosterone. Go see an endocrinologist, stat! Your quality of life, and even longevity, could be at serious peril.
      - nkoren 15y ago
        Hm. You may have a point. This was back when I lived in America, and seeing an endocrinologist would have required winning the lottery or something. Now that I'm living in a more civilised country, perhaps I'll give it a try...
    - enqk 15y ago
      Ok, the only other reason I notice sometimes long bouts of tiredness during morning, is when my wake up time is badly chosen. Do you wake up with an alarm? Try to wake up on your own before it rings. Waking up in certain cycles of your sleep will turn one into a sort of morning zombie ;)
  - pjscott 15y ago
    I've been like this for as long as I can remember, so caffeine isn't it.
    - hopeseekr 15y ago
      Normal endocrine systems peak at around 3 AM and are at their lowest at around 3 PM. If you happen to wake up at 5 AM vs 8 AM, you will feel more energetic. This is because, historically, our main predators were nocturnal, while we hunted almost exclusively in the two twilights (we have substantially better twilight vision than virtually any animal). So when the wolves came at 3 AM we'd be at our most energetic and when it's relatively safe (3 PM in daylight year round), we'd be taking a ciesta. If your body is off hormonally, grogginess throughout the day is a primary sign. When my body was substantially off from ages 18-24, I actually became completely nocturnal, just because 12-5 AM were the only times I felt anywhere near energetic.
      - pjscott 15y ago
        Huh. Your description of normal actually matches up pretty well with what I experience. Throw in some bedtime-drift, and you have a pretty good description of me. Thanks, this had been kind of worrying me a bit. (I've always wondered why waking up at 6 AM was so much easier than waking up at 8 AM. It was baffling.)
- roel_v 15y ago
  Do you wake up with an alarm or 'naturally'?
readme 15y ago
This. I personally take a 1-2 hour nap between 4-5 hour coding sessions. Being a freelancer facilitates this. Also, this infographic about naps is great: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/naps/ http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/naps/
sreitshamer 15y ago
My friend going to law school said she can study for 4-5 hours in a row, fully focused. But then she needs a break, for 2 hours ideally. Then she can do another 4-5 hours. After that, another break. Usually she can do a third 4-5 hours. That's 12-15 hours of full-focus time per day, which to me sounds like a ton.
- roel_v 15y ago
  Studying law is very systematic through (even more than other 'types' of studying). You outline as you go through the material, then revise outlines, then do test exams and repeat where necessary. Things that are very routine to do, even if they involve sitting at a desk, don't take nearly as much focus/willpower as 'creative' things where you need to decide what to do next, and think of new ideas on how to do it, every couple of minutes.

akurilin 15y ago

My personal experience is somewhat analogous to yours. As someone who's working full-time and doing part-time graduate school, I have to ensure that I get at least 8-10 hours of sleep daily to stay sharp throughout the day (haven't quite figured out the whole nap thing yet). It also really helps if you do something like lifting 2-3 days a week so that you're able to endure these 60-80 hour weeks better. I'd say the big advantage of 5am is that nobody's there to bother you, but you could probably pull off the same 2 hours of personal work / day if you were to work after 6pm.

peteretep 15y ago

I dunno, I've found I can make it work with progress. I get up at 6am, generally do 30 minutes of waking up admin (usually with an Anki/SuperMemo session thrown in), and then try and get a good two hours of work in, before heading to the day job. You can't do this if you're not willing to go to bed early and eat well, too, though. And if you're still drinking alcohol during the week ... well, you have too much free time :-) I find a heavy workout at lunch time keeps me going after lunch. What amazed me most about the OP was he updates his todos ... while watching TV? And squeezes his reading time for that? How do you find time to cook healthy food? See friends? Spend quality time with the girlfriend? Watching TV isn't inherently bad, but if you're doing it regularly, you've got waaay too much free time.

nodemaker 15y ago

The point is that the hours between 5 am to 9 am should be more productive for the majority of people (assuming everyone else you know is sleeping at that time) than say the hours between 9 pm to 1 am when most of us can hardly get anything done. But I agree with your premise that maximum productivity is achieved when one finds his/her best schedule and sticks to it.

danmaz74 15y ago

I've been waking up at 6 am for three months now (on weekends, 6:30 or 7, depending at what time I can get to bed). I'm getti to sleep earlier than usual though - I would be a night owl myself. The most difficult part for me, actually, is to force myself to go to bed no later than 23:00 :)

AznHisoka 15y ago

Waking up early entails sleeping early, and I find that for every hour you sleep before 12, it counts as 2 hours, not 1.. I just feel more refreshed the earlier I sleep.

gsharm 15y ago
It was Benjamin Franklin that seemed to have first documented this effect. He had a nice routine going too: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickbilton/3779169741/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickbilton/3779169741/ To think he did this in the 1700s. So far ahead of his time.