Nightowl: Living the StartupLife

By Eric Schames

Most days, I feel like my day begins at 9PM.Ah, the kids are asleep and it’s quiet in the house.“Time to work, sweetheart, I’ve got to go!” 

To the dining room table I march. Laptop in one hand, coffee cup in the other.

The nightowl takes over. Before I realize it, it’s 3am.

I’m not a coder. I can’t think linearly. A+B does not equal C.

To me, A+B may equal C, but what does C mean if you bring in D & E?

I’m a layman. I’m a networker. I’m an out-of-the-box thinker.

But, being a shmoozer comes at a cost. Meeting after meeting after meeting, and the constant barrage of interruptions and emails and before I know it, it’s 6pm and my son is calling asking what time I’ll be home.

And no “real work” has been done!

The draft of the document I need to edit is still on my desk.

The financial model I need to dissect is still in my inbox and marked “unread”.

My to-do list is the same it was at 9am in the morning, only with 5 more things added to it!!

Fast forward to 9pm.

Enter quiet time with no distractions.

Enter a sleepy brain and a bright computer screen.

Enter coffee…

Focus Eric, focus! And presto…the nightowl effect kicks in.

So it got me thinking — why do I focus better at night?

My conclusion — being tired makes me a better “worker.” Sounds oxymoronic…right?

Let me explain why…

I know I should be sleeping at night. I’m not super human and often feel more alert when there is light outside. Yet, I perform my best, most mentally complex work at night when my brain wants to sleep and do simpler tasks when my brain is at its sharpest and brightest.

Yes, coffee helps…a little. But as anyone living the #startuplife will tell you, coffee only takes you so far. My caffeine ‘half-life’ is midway through the cup.

Being tired makes me focus better because I actually have to focus in order to get the job done!

There isn’t enough left-over brainpower to afford losing concentration. We have too much brainpower for approximately 80 percent of the tasks we work on during the day.When I’m slightly tired, I just plomp my butt down and work. Couple my sleepy brain with constantly staring at a bright screen and I’m locked in. Being tired at night makes you ‘dumb enough’ that just focusing is enough.

I focus for hours and hours without even thinking about checking Twitter or Facebook…

At 2am, it’s like the internet stopped existing.

I grind it out.

I forget about being tired until 3am.

And thank God in the morning for my family and coffee.