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Comment by ryanjshaw | Hacker News Reader

I recently listened to an old startup podcast where the guest spoke about how waking up 3 hours before everybody else is the smartest thing you can do because you get an extra 3 hours on everybody else. It didn't cross his mind you can also go to bed 3 hours later than everyone else.

On a different startup podcast, there was a guy claiming he went to bed at 7pm and woke up at 3am! He claimed his kids went to bed at 7pm too. I mean sure, maybe between 1 and 3 years of age, but in the long run this is just absurd (or you are not putting in an equal share of parenting, or spending time with your kids or spouse in the evening.)

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> waking up 3 hours before everybody else is the smartest thing you can do because you get an extra 3 hours on everybody else

Perhaps it's not "extra" hours, it's time you can use productively vs time you can't.

Three completely uninterrupted hours in the morning while everyone else is asleep vs three hours in the evening while everyone is is awake?

To actually concentrate on something important, I'd always pick the former.

> Three constantly interrupted hours in the morning while everyone else is awake vs three quiet hours in the evening while everyone is asleep?

I do my best work after 22:00, when it's quiet. In the morning, I usually can't get anything done.

Everybody else in my household goes to bed before 22:00 and wakes up early - so there's fewer interruptions for me if I work at night. I find the quiet and cooler temperatures much more productive, too - but this could be a geographical thing

I've tried going later to bed to use these as more productive hours for my sideprojects (heck I am still going too late to bed). Although I say that I have more energy in the night the thing is that after a full day it is not easy to concentrate. In the morning you are fresher (provided you get enough sleep).

Overall, my productivity & creativity looks like a gently downsloping graph throughout the day. There are some dips and surges, but in general that is the trend. Three hours first thing in the morning is significantly more valuable -- I prioritize my work/side/personal life so that on any given day I make sure I stack the important stuff earlier if I can.

Our neighbors are the 7pm family. They own their own business and they're out the door at the crack of dawn to tend to things. The kids have always gone to bed at 7pm, except the teenager of course. So such families do exist, but I think it's important that the whole family be on the same schedule, for the reasons you mention.

Keys to productivity include scoping the work in a way where it can be done solo, and then convincing people to work a few hours during the day when either others aren’t, working or when you aren’t expected to be available. Go offline or invis on your work communications app. Close your email client. Try it 2 hours a day for 2 weeks and watch what happens.

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