Discussion Forum > My "Deep Focus" journey - Part 5 - Stop Trying to be a Morning Person
Hi Seraphim
My heart is out to you for those paralyzing morning headaches. I hate those morning headaches as well especially the damn vertigo ones. When I find myself bumping into walls or losing my balance, I no longer try to will my way past it. I just pack up my optimism and drive. I then lie down and hope it passes sooner than later. LOL! What a waste of time and energy, yeah?
My heart is out to you for those paralyzing morning headaches. I hate those morning headaches as well especially the damn vertigo ones. When I find myself bumping into walls or losing my balance, I no longer try to will my way past it. I just pack up my optimism and drive. I then lie down and hope it passes sooner than later. LOL! What a waste of time and energy, yeah?
January 19, 2014 at 17:42 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
Back when I was working, sometimes I'd try to get in a mere 30 minutes earlier, to better synch with my coworkers. Try as I might, though, I couldn't do it. 7:30 is the time my body is ready to get up, no matter how early the alarm goes, and 8:15 is when it's ready to leave the house, no matter what order I do my morning in. Even when I managed to get in early, I wasn't ready to work. I needed my morning tea, even though normally I had it between triaging my inbox (about 30 minutes) and starting focus work. Or I'd spend way too long stalled over something that needed very little attention, if any.
The only other thing I was routinely late for was picking up the kids. I'd always be at the end of the line. Anything else, though, irregular or routine, I'm usually there 5 minutes early.
The only other thing I was routinely late for was picking up the kids. I'd always be at the end of the line. Anything else, though, irregular or routine, I'm usually there 5 minutes early.
January 19, 2014 at 18:52 |
Cricket
Cricket
Funny your mention this about not being a morning person, I came to the exact same conclusion a few weeks ago. I used to try and discipline myself to get up at 5:30 to get the extra work done that I needed, but the problem was I would stay awake all night worrying about what I had to do when I first got up. So I just gave in. Now I stay up a bit later and I don't get up until I have to. For me, personally, as long as I'm not too tired, I get lots done in the evenings. Somehow I got it in my head that I was a stronger, more disciplined person if I got up earlier. But if it means getting less quality sleep, it makes me weaker.
January 20, 2014 at 2:11 |
Paul MacNeil
Paul MacNeil
I'm the same. If I go to bed excited about all the things I'm going to accomplish tomorrow, I'm too keyed up to sleep, and the next day is a write-off.
I can often be productive in the evening, if I have something I'm excited about that doesn't need much concentration (or that I can fool myself into thinking I'm doing well). Not worth it, though, in the hours lost the next day, and often enough in mistakes made.
My son, formally diagnosed with ADHD, says he works best in the wee hours. I used to have a sweet spot between 8 and 10pm, but back then I needed as many focus hours as I could get.
I can often be productive in the evening, if I have something I'm excited about that doesn't need much concentration (or that I can fool myself into thinking I'm doing well). Not worth it, though, in the hours lost the next day, and often enough in mistakes made.
My son, formally diagnosed with ADHD, says he works best in the wee hours. I used to have a sweet spot between 8 and 10pm, but back then I needed as many focus hours as I could get.
January 20, 2014 at 3:40 |
Cricket
Cricket
At work, I feel like my schedule is under control, and I can generally find time to get things done, and find some blocks of time for focus work. But at home, it’s another story – there are too many things going on all the time!
I used to always think I could deal with this lack of time simply by establishing a better morning routine. Specifically, I thought if I could only learn to get up at 3:30 AM, I could have a couple of productive hours before waking the family to start the day at 6:00.
For some reason, that never seemed to work. LOL!
With Pomodoros and my kanban, I have a clearer idea of WHAT TO DO with half an hour if I can find it. Somehow this clarity gave me a sense of freedom, which helped me realize I don’t need to try to be a morning person! There is really nothing wrong with working an hour or two in the evening after everyone is in bed – I have energy and can get a lot done. And hey, that’s 3 or 4 Pomodoros!! And I know exactly what I will do with those Pomodoros! One for clearing my personal email and related tasks, and 2-3 for working my Kanban!
This doesn’t always work – sometimes I am just too tired. The key idea is to take the Pomodoros wherever I can get them! And keep looking for ways to carve one or two more out of the day!
How does this help with “deep focus” time? It became really clear to me that I can’t get into deep focus if I have little interruptions all the time. And with our very lively household, there are ALMOST ALWAYS little interruptions! Unless everyone is asleep! It became clear I’d need to grab a few Pomodoros when everyone else is asleep!
I tried early mornings, and I tried late evenings. I also tried stopping for an hour and a half at Starbucks after work, before coming home – but there were several downsides. I’d still be thinking about work, rather than the personal/family/volunteer things that needed my attention. Also, I couldn’t spread out as easily as I could at home. And I wouldn’t always have my supporting papers and files with me. Also, if I had to step away from the table for some reason, I’d have to pack up everything and take it with me, or risk my laptop getting stolen or my papers thrown away. So, I often ended reading Pocket articles for an hour, or flipping through YouTube, instead of accomplishing anything useful. Besides, it was disruptive to my family schedule to get home so late, and hard on my wife.
Actually, whenever I tried to get up early to try to get things done, I'd fall into the same aimlessness as if I were at Starbucks: checking emails, surfing the Internet, etc.. If I hadn’t planned out ahead of time what to do, I’d find myself wasting all those precious hours. Part of the problem was not feeling totally awake, struggling with morning headache, etc.
Now, if I can carve out half an hour, I can do a Pomodoro.
A big part of what makes this work is establishing better habits: what to do when I have a bit of time; what to do when I am feeling aimless; what to do when I am feeling stressed: watching my behaviors and what triggers them. And this will be the topic for my next post!