6 Productive Things To Do At Night (For All The Night Owls)
Are you a night owl? Here are 6 productive things to do every night to make the most of your productive night hours.
Let’s chat about productive things to do at night.
Does the early bird always get the worm? Great question. Maybe so. At least that is how the saying goes.
But there is a lot to be said for staying up late, too.
Some people actually do their best work after everyone else has gone to sleep.
I know for me personally the quiet night hours, after my kids had gone to sleep, were for many years my most productive time of the day.
(That’s before they became teens and started to stay up late too!).
Now night owls often get a bad rap for being lazy slackers, but the truth is those late-night hours can be some of the best for getting meaningful work accomplished.
Here’s exactly how you can use these late evening hours to your advantage:
PRODUCTIVE THINGS TO DO AT NIGHT
TIP 1 – Maintain seven to eight hours of sleep.
Be warned I have gotten myself in trouble here (burning the candle at both ends!).
Just because you went to bed at 2:00 a.m. doesn’t mean you can sleep until noon.
It doesn’t always work that way (nor is it possible) and having too much sleep can backfire on you, leaving you groggy and much less ineffective for the first few hours you’re awake.
- On the other hand, getting too little sleep is also detrimental.
- Sleep studies have shown that everyone does better on seven hours of sleep than they do on six or less. Everyone has to admit there is truth to these studies.
- When I myself go to bed at 11pm and wake up at 5am (as my body sometimes naturally does) I normally pay for it the next day with extra grouchiness and fatigue. Aim for at least seven hours if you can.
PRODUCTIVE THINGS TO DO AT NIGHT
TIP 2 – Consider a power nap.
If you have this option and you are feeling tired, take it!
No matter when you go to bed, there is usually a point during the day when your alertness starts to take a nosedive.
For those that work a typical 8-5 job, that low point is around 2:00 p.m.
Of course depending on when you go to sleep and wake up, your low point will vary.
If you have a day job a power nap may not be possible but if you work from home and feel exhausted grab a power nap IF YOU NEED IT for an instant energy boost.
But keep it short and sweet.
The perfect length for a power nap is 30 to 60-minutes.
PRODUCTIVE THINGS TO DO AT NIGHT
TIP 3 – Have a morning routine.
Late risers still need a morning routine to get the day off on the right foot.
Create a routine that gets you started and prepares you for a productive evening.
PRODUCTIVE THINGS TO DO AT NIGHT
TIP 4 – Think about the morning.
When you’d still like to sleep for a few more hours, the rest of the world is already up and getting busy.
- Be prepared for these things. Have a morning routine in place for when you are ready to start the day.
- If you need to grab a few more hours of rest, turn your phone ringer off. Close the blinds and curtains for your windows. Consider the use of ear plugs or a white-noise generator to grab the sleep you desperately need.
PRODUCTIVE THINGS TO DO AT NIGHT
TIP 5 – Use the time wisely.
Here’s a truth bomb: there’s no point to staying up late if you don’t use the time productively.
The early morning and late night hours have the fewest distractions so learn to use these to your advantage.
As a night owl, you can actively be more productive by using these later hours for your creative work and so you can actually enjoy the peace and quiet.
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Get your more mundane work, like returning phone calls and answering emails, done during the active parts of the day.
PRODUCTIVE THINGS TO DO AT NIGHT
TIP 6 – Have a hard cutoff time.
It can be tough to stop when it’s 2:00 a.m., and the creative juices are still flowing.
But you still need to consider what happens to the following day if you stay up too late.
Your sleep cycle is disturbed, and your day is off-schedule.
Have a set time where you call it a night and go to bed.
Trust your own internal body clock and rest when you need to rest.
- Have a set wake-up time, too. Night owls tend to be long, undisciplined sleepers. This is a mistake and lowers your effectiveness.
- An evening routine can also be helpful. It can be hard to unwind and go to sleep after working furiously for a few hours.
Avoid allowing work to be the last thing you do before going to bed.
Spend at least 30 minutes unwinding.
Listen to peaceful music, read, or listen to a podcast if that’s what it takes to wind your mind down.
In the end, not everyone is cutout to be an early riser.
Think about what works best for you.
If you are a natural night owl, that’s okay. You are in good company. Some of the most amazing people in history were night owls.
Winston Churchill, Bob Dylan, Barack Obama, and Voltaire are just a few examples.
They did their best work in the evenings and if that is the case for you learn to go with the flow.
Only YOU know what’s best for YOU.
If you are a productive night owl rather than a productive early bird learn to embrace it. Some people really do their best work later in the evening.
Wishing you the best of luck, Frances xxx
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I’m Frances Vidakovic – a mindset & action coach for quietly ambitious women who want to stop overthinking and finally take aligned action. I help women achieve their goals and follow through on what matters, without sacrificing their sanity or soul.