I’m not a morning person. I’ve always believed I’m most productive after about 8pm — something that I have tried to change a few times, but to no avail.
However, reading Paul Graham’s most recent essay was an eye-opener and, I believe, explains my nocturnal habits. Simply put — people who are at least partially on a “makers” schedule require periods of uninterrupted work. Since it’s almost impossible for me to achieve such periods during normal business hours (on manager’s schedule) it makes sense that I’d find focus at off hours when I’m much less likely to be interrupted by phones calls, emails and the like.
There are two types of schedule, which I’ll call the manager’s schedule and the maker’s schedule. The manager’s schedule is for bosses. It’s embodied in the traditional appointment book, with each day cut into one hour intervals. You can block off several hours for a single task if you need to, but by default you change what you’re doing every hour.
But there’s another way of using time that’s common among people who make things, like programmers and writers. They generally prefer to use time in units of half a day at least. You can’t write or program well in units of an hour. That’s barely enough time to get started… continue