
Ask HN: Do you work at night? Why? Would you? - _hv99
I find myself constantly fighting between day and night.<p>Yes, I still live with my mom, and she hates me working at night (I do freelance and work on my startup).<p>I can&#x27;t tell you how much more productive I am. I think I gain at least 10x focus at night. No noise, no one texting&#x2F;calling.<p>Do you work at night? 
Do you wish you could work at night?
Do startups and&#x2F;or corps allow work at night hours?
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ragatskynet
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.

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imd23
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. :(

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gexla
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.

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uaygsfdbzf
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](http://dustincurtis.com/sleep.html)

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iamthephpguy
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.

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wglb
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.

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borplk
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...

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kennethtilton
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.)

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jamesjguthrie
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.

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2810
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.

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logn
> 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.

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Wezc
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.

~~~
imd23
Totally agree. :)

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

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

