Ask HN: Do you work at night? Why? Would you?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6682016

by _hv99 • 13 years ago

8 16 13 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I find myself constantly fighting between day and night.

Yes, I still live with my mom, and she hates me working at night (I do freelance and work on my startup).

I can't tell you how much more productive I am. I think I gain at least 10x focus at night. No noise, no one texting/calling.

Do you work at night? Do you wish you could work at night? Do startups and/or corps allow work at night hours?

logn• 13 years ago

Do startups and/or corps allow work at night hours?

None of them come out and say it, but look for keywords: 'work from home', 'contractors', and 'global team'.

Yes, I work a lot at night too. Some of us weren't built for the 24-hour Earth.

Wezc• 13 years ago

As a software engineer student I totally prefer working at night. But as far as my school projects are in group I can't do what I want anymore. As you said I used to be much more productive at night, like from 8pm to 4am.

imd232• 13 years ago

Totally agree. :)

gexla• 13 years ago

I'm a freelance developer, so most of the time I set my own schedule. I often work at night because of time zone differences (S.E. Asia to U.S.) but again, that's usually not a requirement.

I don't know that less distractions would be a valid point for most. What happen to the distractions during the day? If they don't go away then they may result in jacking up your sleep schedule. If they do go away, then that would suggest you can control them if you need to.

I often don't get good enough sleep if I try to get a full run of sleep in one session during the day. If I try to get multiple sessions, then often they both end up being short. That leaves me not at my best at night. There might be less distractions, but the lack of distractions don't make up for being less than optimal.

Even better for me than sticking to a specific schedule is to simply work when I feel refreshed and sleep when I'm tired. Often that means I stay up late, get up early and take a nap or two during the day. Sometimes I will go to bed early, wake up in the middle of the night for 2 - 3 hours of work, sleep again until dawn and then take another nap during the middle of the day.

uaygsfdbzf• 13 years ago

Well, with polyphasic sleep you can 'hack' sleeping in many different ways. In the 'Uberman mode' it says you can only sleep 2 hours a day in total. Oo http://dustincurtis.com/sleep.html

PeterisP• 13 years ago

The kids are asleep, so it's the only time at home where uninterrupted concentration is possible.

ragatskynet• 13 years ago

As a student or a freelancer it working at night looks good to evade distractions but always pay attention and do not mess up your sleep schedule too much so you can avoid having problems with your health or your social life. These are very important even if you neglect these questions (I did it when i was a few years younger).

Since I have a full time job I prefer to wake up earlier if I need to work on something apart from my main job. I was a night owl for many years but I discovered mornings are pretty good also - you can find some beauty in it: nice, fresh weather, a good coffee and the less noise are your best friends for sure. Also by being fresh you can make sure that you are at your most productive state. If you do something in the morning and/or in the afternoon then it is convenient to rest and sleep at night.

I think that this depends on the type you are and not just on your biorythm but the social situation you are in.

imd232• 13 years ago

I love to wake up 8pm and go to sleep 12am. When I do this I don't loose any social life (friends) and also live the sunset and sunrise. This schedule prevents meetings with normal people, and it's here when I've to force myself to keep asleep for that specific meeting and then the schedule messes up again. :(

borplk2• 13 years ago

Hmm ... sounds like quite a warning for me, I'm currently like your past version. Thanks.

jamesjguthrie• 13 years ago

I used to work at night when my son was just born but he's 2 now and requires lots of my energy so I'm too tired to do anything but sleep at night.

kennethtilton2• 13 years ago

Yes, for the reasons you state. Knew a writer (not code) he said the same. No distractions, total focus, amazing productivity.

2810• 13 years ago

I love to work at night especially when everyone is sleeping. No noise, no gadgets, no distraction and mum will not call me from a distance. Just me and my work.

Sometimes I do love to work early in the morning.. just that waking up is so difficult in the morning. As if the gravity is stronger in the morning than at night!

Otherwise a perfect working environment for me will be quiet and comfortable.

borplk2• 13 years ago

I see a lot of people mentioning less distractions etc. While I agree I think if less distractions is your main reason that is a sign that you are not being assertive enough and not taking control of the situation as much as you should. It sure takes some determination, but hey unplug yourself and let your friends know those are the hours you are working hard and return their calls later. Most distractions really are not that urgent, we just let them distract us. Don't let everyone expect to be able to reach you with a click of a button. Fancy toys and gadgets make it hard, but you lose something more valuable...

kennethtilton2• 13 years ago

I'll try, but I do not think I am assertive enough to have college football games moved to 3am. (It's not just friends.)

iamthephpguy• 13 years ago

Lots of comments here talk about lack of distractions making it easier to get more done in the night. My case however is a little different. I don't know why, but my brain feels a lot more awake post dinner from 10pm to about 4am - than any other time in the day and this is irrespective of having slept well.

Some people were just built for the night.

wglb• 13 years ago

There have been two general sets of circumstances that caused me to work at night.

The first was that there were fewer distractions.

The second and more interesting one was that in two different circumstances, the computer that I was working on wasn't available until after first and sometimes second shift. One gig involved going in at 2 am, coming home noonish. Thus, I would walk to work in one world and walk home in a different one. A bit disorienting. (I am afraid this may be dating myself a bit.)

These days I am able to control the non-internet distractions a lot better, so it is pretty much daylight for me.

When I did have young kids at home, and needed to work long days, I elected to go in very early. This way, I would be able to be home in the evening.

Ask HN: Do you work at night? Why? Would you?

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