You’ve heard it before, and so have I. Yep. I’ve read many articles and have received much advice from adults and teachers and responsible people alike about the benefits of getting up early and why people who wake up earlier tend to be more productive. I also know there are counter-arguments on this topic, and while I am not here to debate the pros and cons of waking up early, I am here to share my own insights on why I myself will never be a morning person, and why I am totally okay with this.
I am sure you’ve all met those people who might be coined as “Nighthawks,” those individuals who rather than getting up early in the morning, sleep in and stay up very late into the later hours (after 11pm). My brother and I had an interesting conversation about this recently, and how we both are firm believers that sometimes you’re just wired a certain way and how some of us will never be those early birds. I know habits and routines can change, and I even had a period a few years ago where I was getting up at 6:30 am every day for work, and honestly, I really hated it. Even getting up for school in the morning was dreadful, if it happened before 7:45 am.
Ever since I can remember, I have always been the most productive in the evenings. When I was in high school, in addition to after-school sports and clubs, I also had a job. This meant that at least 3 school nights a week, I wasn’t getting home until 9:30 pm. Of course, I had to then start my homework, have a shower, and possibly have some leisure/downtime if time allowed. Basically, I wasn’t going to bed before midnight unless my school workload was lightened. Completing my homework so late wasn’t ever a drag for me, and I always found I had this burst of energy after coming home from work. It seemed that my most creative thoughts and ideas would come about after dark, and my concentration was at an all-time high. I attribute this to many things.
After being at school for 6 or so hours and focusing all day long, it is important to give your brain a break. For me, these breaks included going to work, but also participating in activities like sports or drama club, or even hanging out with my friends. My parents were pretty lenient in that they always understood that we always got our homework done, so finishing our homework before going out with friends wasn’t a necessary rule in our house. My parents knew that if I didn’t get home until the evening, or if I had friends come over, my homework would get done regardless. I have always had strong organizational/time management skills so trying to find a work/school/social life balance never was hard for me. Having a few hours break between after school and homework time allowed my brain to focus better on completing those tasks and thinking about what material I learned throughout the day. For those days where I had nothing going on after school, I still found myself not working on any homework until well after supper; the only exception to this was group projects or studying for tests or exams.
Some of you are probably reading this thinking, no teenager likes getting up early in the morning, so what? Well, for me, this wasn’t just a phase of puberty. I really liked to work in the evening and into the night. When I went off to university, 8:30 am classes were hell for me. I tried so hard to get into routines of waking up at the same time every day, going to bed at the same time every night, planning activities for the morning, leaving sections of time in the morning to ease myself into waking up earlier, but nothing was sticking. I went through a phase where I would work on any readings, essays or projects in the morning and earlier part of the day so that my evenings could be free. This was met with limited success. I found myself taking almost twice as long to get anything done, compared to when I would start after 6pm. Finally, I stopped fighting it and started listening to what my internal clock was telling me; my brain worked best late in the day.
I cannot even begin to tell you how much more work I got done in university once I completely accepted that my brain’s primetime was after supper hours and that this didn’t need to change. Yes, I’m not going to lie, there were quite a few 8:30 am classes that I outright missed or slept through, and while I struggled not to feel guilty about missing school (nerd alert), I found that getting up later, catching up on content via the textbook with the aid of my friends’ notes, was more productive for me than sitting in the classroom listening to my professor talk for 1.5 hours straight first thing in the morning. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that I hate mornings, but I am not the best version of myself in the morning. It’s not that I can’t function as a person before 10 am, because I can, but I am at my most productive, enthusiastic and happy later in the day.
As I mentioned briefly above, at my old job, I had to wake up for work at 6:30am every day. I only worked 20 minutes away, so commuting wasn’t ever a real concern. A full school year went by under this schedule and it never got any easier. Sometimes I enjoyed finishing work at 4:30 instead of 6pm or later, but any chance I had to switch to a later shift, I would jump on it in an instant. I recognize that while I am a very talkative and happy person in general, I am not this person in the morning. Waking up in the morning is a process for me. I need time to process the alarm going off (sometimes 3 or 4 or 5 times) and getting the day started. I recognize that if I need to be “out of bed” by 7am that I really should start my alarm at 6:30 so that I have intervals to seize the day and get out of bed. I bet some people are reading this thinking how terrible this is for me and how much worse it is to set so many alarms, and while science probably agrees with you, this method is honestly what works for me. I don’t drink coffee, and while many have suggested this would help me to wake up, I don’t want to rely on caffeine to keep me alert. Instead, I take my time waking up. At my old job, I was required to be “on” early in the morning. Working with children, you don’t really get the chance to sit and be calm in the morning, you have to be all in; this means you’ve got to be talking, interacting, sharing ideas, playing, asking questions, and helping them learn new concepts and ideas. While some of the kids definitely made getting up earlier a little easier, I always found my afternoon classes ran much better because I was more alert and seemed to have the most creative ideas for projects and activities.
Taking the time to “wake up” was and still is an interesting concept to me because while I do need time to ease into the morning, I also cannot have a morning that drags on. Basically, I need to wake up with just the right amount of time to get dressed, get makeup on, maybe eat breakfast at home (or stop on the way to work) and that’s pretty much it. Any other lull in time tends to make the process of being alert and ready for the day that much longer. In general, I enjoy being busy so I think this is a good reason for it, but also focusing on all the things I have to do for the day kicks my brain into gear. The drive to work is a good time for me to become more awake and ready to conquer the day too, even if its only 15 or 20 minutes, it allows me to not have to engage in conversation, but ease into listening to some music or a podcast and get ready for whatever interactions I might be met with for the day. Of course, this doesn’t mean that I’m not productive at work in the morning, I can definitely be when I need to be, but if you want me at my best, most creative, insightful and delightful, perhaps come engage with me around lunchtime?
Now that I am 30 and can’t hide from being an adult and all the responsibilities that come with it, sometimes I can’t help but feel the societal pressure to become a morning person and seize the day as early as possible, because how can you really be an “adult” if you struggle to get up before 8 am? Well, it used to bother me. When I graduated and started my career I used to think there was something wrong with me because I still hated to (and struggled to) get up early. I thought that eventually, I would get used to waking up early and going to bed at a “decent” hour, which I think is before 10 pm? People still remind me that sleeping until 7:30 or 8 or 8:30 is too late for an adult, especially because I don’t work a job that requires me to work until 1 am or whatever late night shift, but I don’t know what else to say other than it’s just the way I am. I no longer worry about being a late riser, it doesn’t bother me, despite those who want to make me feel bad about it. I accept that I am not a morning person, nor do I want to be. Sure, I’ll wake up early when I need to (work, making an appointment, catching a flight, or when it’s better to do so (like when on vacation or a trip) but my preference is still late evenings over mornings.
Understanding my own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to getting up early was and still is a work in progress. As I said, there are times that call for early mornings, and it’s not as though I am totally unbearable when I do have to get up early, but I thrive in the later parts of the day. I can get up early if I need to, and all “fine, but I’m going to complain the whole time” jokes aside, the mindset is a key factor here. Being an early riser is doable, and for me, it just needs to have a purpose and needs to feel fulfilling. If I can say with confidence that waking up earlier than my normal is necessary because ______________, then I won’t dread it as much. Mindset is also relative to mood. Maybe a contributing factor to dreading those 6:30 am work mornings was attributed to something about my job? Maybe not?
It is quite an interesting rabbit hole to crawl into, but for now, how about a nap?
Just kidding! Thanks for reading.
Five Feet High Thoughts 