A Night Owl’s Strategy for Gaming Mental Acuity
Do the tough stuff first
You’ve heard it all, I’m sure: Some people are morning people, others are night owls, blah blah and so on. I’ve written about this dichotomy in the past because I hate it just that much. And, like many people, I have nonetheless internalized (to some extent) the notion that to truly “crush it” in life, one must acquiesce to the early bird lifestyle.
The thing is, I’m an incurable night owl. A lifelong affliction. Not going away unless I have some kind of chemical crisis. And I won’t pull any punches here: In a 9–5 world, being a night owl can be an impediment.
Here’s why: Night owls hit their cognitive performance peaks slightly later in the day than non-night owls. This can be a disadvantage in the context of a typical office worker’s job schedule, for obvious reasons. But ‘later in the day’ does not mean ‘late in the day.’ It means later, relative to the people who are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the wee morning hours.
Whether a person is early or late to rise, people generally have two cognitive performance peaks: one in the early-midday (e.g. late morning to early afternoon) and the second in the late evening. And that first, early-midday peak is the one that correlates with mental acuity and efficiency.
