Rest in the World: My Morning Routine (Updated Edition)

even in subjects I liked I continued to trust that my talent would save the day. I believed I did my best work late at night, in the wee hours, when I could catch up with the reading, or when the combination of coffee and fatigue and deadlines would force me to bear down on an assignment and come up with something good.

The night before I program the coffeepot, set out a coffee mug, and put out clothes. I set up my working space the night before, too. I put whatever books and notebooks I’ll need on my desk. I close my email and browser so I won’t be tempted by them. I open my “Morning Music” collection, and queue up a playlist. I write a list of things to focus on

At 5 a.m., I can still feel the weight of sleep in my head— it feels like a blanket pressing down on my consciousness— but it’s light enough to let ideas flow. It’s worth spending the first part of my morning there. The fact that I’m not a morning person doesn’t impede my ability to work well in the early morning; in fact, it probably gives me a bo

early birds did better on the insight questions in the late afternoon, during their circadian lows, while night owns produced more insights in the morning.

One potential problem to working outside your circadian peak is that you’re more easily distracted. However, a study by University of Arizona psychologist Cynthia May found that under the right circumstances, this effect can be turned to your advantage.

The fact that I’m not a morning person doesn’t impede my ability to work well in the early morning; in fact, it probably gives me a boost. When people feel alert and active, their ability to focus on the task at hand and ignore other thoughts is high; psychologists call this ability inhibition. In contrast, when people are low energy and in need of

On most mornings I’m nudged out of sleep at 5:00 am by the strains of Miles Davis’ “Freddie Freeloader” or one of Bach’s solo cello pieces.

I thought this was how smart people worked. Creative accomplishment isn’t organized, it doesn’t obey rules, and it has no respect for the clock or the needs of the body.

The other critical thing I do the night before is stop in mid-sentence or mid-paragraph. It’s a technique that makes starting at 5 a.m. a little easier: instead of having to face the existential terror of the blank page, my first task is write a couple lines that complete last night’s thought.