Dalton Willard

April 1, 2024

In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning

I've been getting back to old habits for the last few weeks by going to bed around 8 pm and getting up around 3 am.

I have to say, it's beautiful to bike out into empty streets to get to the office. And it's peaceful to work in an empty common room. I can be set up and working hours before the sun comes up.

Obviously it's not for everyone. But I don't miss the night hours the way that I thought I would. And I find it easier to get more out of my day when I use the pre-dawn hours to knock out the most important tasks first.

(Kudos to the Make Time book for helping me see that you don't have to be a night owl if you're better suited to early mornings.)

Riffing on a Ben Franklin maxim I've always liked:
Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy and wealthy and wise.
Early to rise, but late to the bed makes a man cranky and achy instead.
Early to bed, but sleeping in late makes a man rushed and behind and irate.
Bedding down late and sleeping in too means that you're probably not 32.