It’s a whole new world when the sun sets, and most people settle in for the night. Peace and quiet sets in. Tranquility. A calming atmosphere. Unknown to most who dance to a normal circadian rhythm. It’s such a stark contrast against a bustling world filled with daily activities – even the wildlife and atmosphere add noise that from a symphony of sounds most people experience. I’ve never experienced one of those sound deprivation chambers, but I would welcome the experience. The closest I come are the evenings and early mornings I spend alone after everyone else has paused to rest.

Even as a young child, I remember pulling all-nighters working on projects. Whether it was editing a video, building a website, or maybe doing some late-night reading – I distinctly remember the difference I felt between working throughout the day versus overnight. It’s the same feeling I have today nearly 20 years later.

I’m not typically distracted by novel things like watching tv or talking with friends – but I do feel distracted by cars driving by or people walking down the sidewalk. Emails arriving, fellow co-workers pinging me – any indication that I may be needed elsewhere. All these things break concentration and make it difficult to get to that ideal ‘flow state’.

That’s about all the logic I have right now to understand why I am so much more productive at night. I feel like I get more done, I reach ‘flow’ much more consistently, I do find it easier to think and be creative. Overall, I’m in a much better mood to get things done, and I do.

This is a large factor in why I hate being ‘forced’ to work during traditional work hours and insist on flexible schedules and specific due dates. My ‘end of day’ means before you come into work tomorrow. And that’s how I’ve operated. I often check out of work early and return to it much later in the evening, or early the next morning. I regularly butt heads with folks who try and force ‘getting stuff done between specific hours’. It’s not without its bad side though. For one, it means, by definition, that I ‘take work home with me’ and work sort of around the clock. And I have been bit by this too. Many times, wishing I didn’t have to jump back into work or that I could forget about it till the next day. I have struggled with that a lot.

In a way, I could see that I have conditioned myself that when the darkness roles in, that’s time to work. But wouldn’t that mean I’d be super productive over winter when we hardly see the sun? Who knows? I wonder if there is any science to support that some people just do better at night physiologically? And if so, what does that mean?

One of the other points I wanted to make is that it ‘feels like’ it is easier to think when I am tired. I don’t know why or how – or if there is any science to support that either – but if I were to guess – I would say that a tired brain is a lazy brain that doesn’t go wandering down rabbit holes and stops at either the first solution it finds or the easiest one. And in a way that makes it appear more effective, especially if your metric is simply getting stuff done. I can see how that would be easier with a tired brain. Not ideal for thought-intensive work – it must be low cognitive resources.

If you are a night-owl like me, then you know what I have been talking about. I would fancy a lot of creators and entrepreneurs are or have been at times. If you haven’t stayed up all night to appreciate what happens, then I encourage you to try it. Even cities that don’t die down completely overnight, I still recognize the difference. The world is noisy and you might not really know exactly how noisy it can be unless you hear what it’s like when everyone else is asleep.