I've just written a blog post on writing, crimping, getting up early - all that good stuff.

It's probably more practical than I've often been. In any event it may be of interest if for no other reason because I reference this group and Steve Zeoli.

http://www.exuberanteclectic.com/2011/06/early-morning-key-to-productive-writing.html

Daly

Good post Daly.

I have always been a morning man, whether it is a run, a surf a landscape photo or simply walking in the garden with a cup of coffee there is something magical about the early hours. Getting to work early once or twice a week gives me the chance to gather my thoughts and plan the next few days. Helps a lot.

Neil Young pretty much nailed it in his 70's classic Thrasher

And I was just getting up
Hit the road before it's light
Tryin' to catch an hour on the sun
When I saw those thrashers rollin' by
Lookin' more than two lanes wide
I was feelin' like my day had just begun

Nicely written post. It reminds me a lot of Steven Pressfield's The War of Art, which I hope to finish up this weekend before heading off for a week of R&R with my wife. I share your desire to get things done early in the day, especially now that the days are long, but that is not always the case for me. But, I have sometimes found peace at the end of the day when everybody else has left me alone. But even those moments are few and far between. Keep working at it!

Good luck,

--Ken

Hey! I did almost all of my Ph.D. dissertation (mathematics-original research/development) in bed until 4am each morning. Typed a lot of it in bed, too (Olivetti Lettera 22).

Over 40 years ago, I proved to myself that I am most awake at night. The proof, consisting of a single "sorta blind" trial was pretty conclusive.

-cassius

Thanks for the feedback, guys. It convinces me of the wisdom of trying to overcome my love-hate feelings about morning.

And thanks Andrew for the Neil Young quote - always loved his singing, and appreciate how often and in how many contexts he's quoted. Neil grew up in Winnipeg, and is one of our more famous former residents.

Daly

Excellent, thoughtful post, Daly. And thanks for the mention!

I've become a bit of a morning person in recent years. Not from choice, but when I got married three years ago, my wife's dowery included two cats who like to be fed as soon as the first birds begin chirping outside. For some reason they understand that I'm the soft touch and so I'm awakened each day by a wet nose in the face, and paws dancing over my chest.

But I am not complaining. The little furlines have given me a taste of the peace and productivity of morning -- that is after I've filled their bowls with kibble.

Steve Z.

I think getting up early is of questionable value.

It's one of those correlation/causation things... healthy people with active social lives tend to get up early, and individuals do the same when healthy and having active social lives.

Certainly the morning light hitting your eyes improves mood.

However there's also plenty of evidence that night owls get more done and are more intelligent.

If you want to get up and get started earlier, eat a solid paleo diet, and have protein within 30 minutes of waking up. Sleep in the dark. Free run your sleep if possible. Eating breakfast earlier will set your circadian rhythm.

Also, seeing faces in the morning is excellent for your mood.

In the past millions of years our ancestors got up early, it must mean something.

As a software developer my problem is getting to sleep early, this has been improved after I read the book 'The power of now', but changing a habit is really hard...


---
Edwin Yip
Turn MS Word into a full-featured outliner software for large writing projects.
http://WritingOutliner.com