There are lots of sayings to highlight how getting going early can really lead to success. ‘The early bird catches the worm,’ ‘…early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.’ But what about the other end of the day? New research suggests that night owls may actually be more successful than morning people.
There are
plenty of people known to have late night habits. Perhaps the most
famous is Winston Churchill who often worked until 3AM. Others include
several famous writers like Gustave Flaubert, Franz Kafka, W.H. Auden
and James Joyce, as well as other political figures including President
Obama. Most of these people all tend to follow similar patterns in how
they go about using the evening and nighttime to achieve success.
The research, done at the London School of
Economics, showed that people with higher IQs are more likely to stay up
late and that they show higher ‘level of cognitive complexity.’ Other
studies also show that people who wake early fade in terms of cognitive
ability at a faster rate than those who don’t. This article summarizes the results of several scientific studies that suggest night people are more likely to be better thinkers.
So what is it that night owls do to make them successful?
1. Take a break in the afternoon or early evening.
Many of the most successful and well-known night
owls take a break from their day in the afternoon or evening –
presumably to recharge – before returning to work and continuing much
later than most people work. Churchill famously went to bed for an hour
and a half at 5PM, rose, went to dinner (often very formal in his
position as Prime Minister) at 8PM. When dinner ended, usually very
late, he returned to work, staying up until anywhere from 1AM to 3AM.
President Obama takes a break from his schedule in the early evening to
have dinner with his family and then returns to work for the rest of the
evening. Franz Kafka did most of his writing after a lengthy afternoon
and evening break and returned to work after dinner from 11PM to
anywhere from 1AM to 5AM.
2. Finish the day by preparing for tomorrow - something anyone can do
One of the common themes with successful people
of all kinds – not just night owls – is to end the working day by
preparing for the next day. Anything from looking over the schedule,
doing prepatory reading and research to planning and adjusting what will
be done. For night owls this can be a very in-depth process so that the
next day is set up for success. President Obama always includes a
review of the material needed for the next day as part of his
end-of-evening ritual.
This is a common piece of advice for success in work and life: Take
time at the end of the work day to get ready for the next day. It can
simply be five minutes at the end of the day to look at your calendar or
plans for the next day and set yourself up for success. If tomorrow is
an ordinary day there may be nothing much to do. But if there is
anything unusual going on, now might be the time to send a prepatory
email or call someone to talk over issues before the big meeting, or do
some research to prepare yourself right for a project that is starting.
The secret is to make it a habit. Do it EVERY day – even schedule the
time for it onto your calendar to make it happen. This doesn’t have to
be at 11PM – do it at 4:55PM or whenever is convenient at the end of the
working day.
3. Reflect and Adjust
A common practice for night owls is to use part
of that time to look back at the day and reflect on it and use that
reflection to adjust the way they do things or to learn valuable
lessons. This can be as simple as keeping a journal. People use journals
from everything to personal reflection to analysis of their decision
making to recording ideas they return to. Not everyone
formally uses a journal, but it is very common with writers. This is
another evening tactic that can apply to anyone – even those who are not
night owls.
4. Finish Things
Evening work is great for grabbing
uninterrupted, clear time to finish things off. During the crowded,
busy, interrupted day it can be hard to check, go over and draw a final
line under tasks and projects. Night owls often find this ability to
focus and concentrate uninterrupted to be a great boon in finishing
tasks properly – rather than almost completing them and saying 'that’s
good enough.' The uninterrupted time is a key for many of the successful
night owls, particularly artists.
5. Do NOT do the little, ordinary tasks
It turns out that everyone finds it hard to do
the annoying tasks like returning calls and answering email that is
important but not critical. And it also turns out that everyone just
finds it easier to do this in the morning (or at least after they get
going – which in some of the night owl cases, like Churchill’s is pretty
late). The evening turns out to be a better time for creativity and
longer, harder projects and is best saved for that.
One thing is clear – morning and evening people are very different in their approach but can be equally successful.
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