Here are a couple of polls to anecdotally find out if there is a trend here about what time of day people find they are able to perform best (work, study, memorize, etc.). If none of the options fit you, check the “Other” box and leave a comment below.
What time of day are you at your peak performance?
This poll measures performance relative to when the sun is in the sky.
I’m a before-dawn person (the sun hasn’t come up yet)
I am a morning person (the sun is up, but it’s before noon)
I am a mid-day person (after 12 noon)
I am an evening person (the sun is going down)
I am a night person (most other people are sleeping)
Other (leave a comment below)
0voters
How long after waking up are you at your peak performance?
This poll measures hours after waking up, because people wake up at different times of the day.
I missed “less than one hour after waking up”, but that can be included under the option for 1-2 hours after waking up. I meant “within a couple of hours”.
Edit: in response to suggestions on how to improve the poll — if people don’t like the way the poll is designed, I’d suggest one of two options:
click “Other” and write details of when your brain works best in a comment here, or
write a new poll here in the comments that is better designed.
I have no attachment to my poll and would be happy if someone designed a better one that could be used as a model for similar polls in the future.
It seems clear to me (from the order of the options) that “night person” means that you are peak performance after most other people are sleeping. So you would need to sleep later than most people and feel productive at the end of your day.
There are several factors that might affect performance, including:
sunlight
hours since waking
society factors (waking early and being “ahead” of others" / working with others at the same time (even doing different things) / not being distracted because others are sleeping / etc.)
The categories are basically what I would set up if I were creating a similar poll.
Personally, I’m not sure when I’m naturally most productive.
I can’t really say about the hour. I know I’m the most productive after taking a break (sleeping, taking a shower, take a short walk, doing the washing up, etc.).
Ideally I stay up late, get up early and nap an hour during the day. That way I don’t feel like “wasting time” and I feel fresh most of the time. Working from home is great for this.
Another factor for the feeling of “I’m most productive early in the morning” may simply be that you’re not interrupted by other people because it would be rude for them to call you at that time. I love the evenings and I can work well then too, but it’s more a social time, so people are going to interact with you - which is positive in itself, just not “productive” in a short-term view (but it can be a great way to take a break and be more productive afterwards).
I’m a night owl. My real peak starts somewhere between 10PM and midnight, and ends between 1 and 3 AM.
Typically I perform “fine” half an hour, to an hour after waking up and will dip into low performance after maybe 4 hours. Afternoon naps really help. But my best exists in that zone between 10 and 3.
It can be a real problem if I have to be up early. If I’m not asleep by 10, it’s not happening. If I wake up during that period for any reason at all, it’s over, I’m up and it’ll take a week to fix it.
I wouldn’t call myself a “morning person”, but when I do get up early and get to work, my brain is clear. I don’t do as well in the afternoons or evening, but then get a surge of energy later at night, so I checked “1-2 hours” “3-4 hours” to cover the day until the morning or early afternoon, and “more than 10 hours” to cover late at night. I’m often up until 2 AM, but I would prefer to go to sleep around 11 PM. The late night energy makes that hard.
Something else that comes to mind is that the way I’m getting out of bed is going to influence how I feel and can work.
I have no problem getting up anymore since I stopped using the snooze button.
Unless I really have at least 45 minutes until the time I absolutely need to be up, it’s not worth it trying to sleep “a little bit more”, I’ll just feel crummy afterwards.
Just getting up and doing something physical for at least 5 min. does wonders for me (it doesn’t have to be sports, just emptying the dishwasher or any manual task also works great).
Reading is hit or miss, because it’s not active enough, but writing/journaling is great.
And the “emotional” side of things is important. Listening to the news or going on social media where people are most often than not showing themselves in their worst light is guaranteed to make me feel awful a good part of the day. Screens are fine (quickly reviewing 20-30 anki cards to start the day makes me feel accomplished), just no internet…
