It's About Time

While my kids were browsing in the library the other day, I picked up the January 16 issue of Time to indulge in total schadenfreude over the Jack Abramoff scandal. I found an interesting bonus, though. The issue also included an extended "Mind and Body" section (obligatory, what with New Year's Resolutions and all) that included a real gem: "Making the Most of Your Day...and Best Use of the Night," based on body clock information.

Outing myself here: I'm a morning person. I have to admit, I clung to the illusion of a Snoopy-like "I'm allergic to mornings" existence when I was a teenager--how uncool is it to get up early when you're 16?--but my wannabe-night owl aspirations were dashed in college. To my shame, I couldn't pull all-nighters.

What kind of poser was I? I had a boyfriend who'd set up a nice study area in our college's training room (he was a trainer for the football team), complete with high-quality caffeine, and I'd sack out by 11 pm. He'd study all night. I'd wake up at four, review, hit the Dining Hall for breakfast, take the same test, and outscore him (probably one reason we eventually broke up).

And it just wasn't when I was studying with him. I fell asleep before midnight on Saturday nights. I'd be sacked out on my bed, fully clothed, ice melting into oblivion in my Jack and 7-Up, while my roommates mocked me and stayed up into the wee hours. It was embarrassing.

Then I finally admitted it. I did better when I hit the sack early and woke up at four. Turns out the process still works. When I'm in a grading crunch, I go to bed and get up at three. I finished Crash Test in one week (gotta beat that Golden Heart deadline)--one chapter a day, written between four and five-thirty am. Insane, I know, but it worked.

Then I open Time and see I'm not that crazy after all. The Day/Night article breaks down your waking hours into four categories: Low Concentration, Creativity, Problem Solving, and Rejuvenation. It also maps out those times for Larks and Night Owls:

MORNING PERSON

• 5:30 Wake
• 6-8 am Creativity
• 8-12:30 Problem Solving
• 12:30-2:30 "Dead Zone" (bad time to concentrate)
• 2:30-4:30 Problem Solving
• 4:30-8 Rejuvenation (good time to work out)
• 8-10 "Dead Zone"

NIGHT OWL

• 8 Wake
• 8-10 "Dead Zone"
• 10-noon Creativity
• 12-1 Problem Solving
• 1-3 "Dead Zone"
• 3-6 Rejuvenation
• 6-11 Problem Solving
• 11-12 "Dead Zone"

I thought it was cool. Guess my idea to work out ("work out" meaning "yoga and Pilates classes") in the afternoon is a good one. My problem is that all my creativity and problem solving time happens early in the day. It's good that I'm "on" when I'm with my students, but it sure fries all my synapses for writing. No wonder I've been so unproductive.