Would you describe yourself as an early bird or night owl? Typically these two cute names have been used to describe the energy levels of a particular individual (oh, and apparently there is also the afternoon quail description, but I've never heard it used before).
What are these birds? Well, an early bird is essentially someone who feels more energetic, productive, and inspired in the morning hours of the day (say sunrise until noon), whereas a night owl is at his or her prime after sunset and until late (and even until the wee hours of the morning). These types of people aren't just expressing their hourly preferences, but are likely expressing their inner physiology. Morning people have their circadian rhythm shifted earlier while nighttime people have their rhythm shifter later.
I am a proud early bird. I feel my best, have the most energy, get lots of work done, and am most inspired... all before noon. In fact, most of my blog post ideas come together in the morning.
I was thinking of circadian rhythms and their role in motivation recently. I thought that in order to motivate people to do the things that they dread doing (e.g. chores, studying, exercise) that they should schedule them during the hours that they feel the best. For instance, if you want to start (and stick to!) an exercise routine, schedule it during your optimal time. If you are an afternoon quail, go for a walk then rather than forcing yourself out of bed to do so. By scheduling the dreaded activities during the best times, maybe they are more likely to be maintained(?).
Just a (morning) thought...
I too am a morning person, as the day grinds on I find it much harder to start hard or unpleasant tasks. This is why I ten to try and plan road trips in the morning and why delays and slow starts are so hard to keep me from being streesed. J. M.
ReplyDeleteI do my best work after midnight.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could shift my work hours to accommodate. Maybe I should just move to Japan.