Morning thoughts of a night owl

The residents in the apartments opposite us have started to turn their lights off and call it a night. Some of them are binge watching TV, and won't stop for many hours.

The traffic on the road is starting to calm down. Not many passenger cars and cabs now. Most people have already endured their journey back home from their workplace, through the chaotic streets of Bangalore during rush hour. Now it's largely trucks and cranes and other heavy vehicles making the noise, many of them going to one of the construction sites near us.

My wife and I have had dinner. She's done with her work and we're finally watching the series finale of Brooklyn 99, after over a year of watching an episode or two every now and then. There are 11 minutes left before it ends and it's 10:42pm right now.

Perfect.

Because I'd really like to finish this episode before 11pm, which is when I get on Discord to join daily standup and start my workday.

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I was recently talking to a couple of people from Czech Republic. Towards the end of the meeting when we were trying to schedule the next call, they asked me what my available hours were. When I told them they paused for a second to do the timezone calculus and were a little puzzled.

I inform them that I work Pacific Time hours, about 11 hours from my local time (depending on daylight savings)

"So you wake up in the afternoon?!"

"Yes, around 3pm. Sometimes as late as 5 if I had some extra work!"

And then they jokingly told me how angry their significant other would be if they had working hours like that.

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I'll soon be completing 4 years of working at ManagerXR remotely. I'm in India, most of the team is in the USA and I match my working hours with theirs.

Making games, virtual worlds and other such things leads to pretty interesting conversation when the topic of work comes up. But recently my sleeping habits have stolen some of the limelight.

But despite being a nocturnal person, I enjoy a routine that is pretty consistent, and one that currently feels better than what's commonly prescribed and followed. 

Wake up around 3 pm. 

Start work around at 11pm. 

Go to sleep around 7am the next day.

That's 8 hours each for work, life and sleep. 

Not everyone gets 8 hours to sleep a day. And not everyone gets to work just 8 hours a day. So I am lucky to have this in the first place.

But what makes it even better is that on most days, between 3pm and 11pm I have 8 straight hours of personal time. Most people have 3-4 hours before work and 3-4 hours after. Even if commute isn't involved, this halving can be limiting.

For many months now, a big portion of time time has been going towards gym and fitness. I also get to enjoy a nice tea time with my wife right after I wake up, because it's her lunch break and she works from home too. In the evening, when she's done with work, we can watch a TV show or go out. I easily have an hour every day to catch up with friends and family over a phone call. 

Perhaps if I spent these 8 hours more judiciously, I could make more progress on my side projects. Maybe even get back into playing the guitar or sketching, hobbies that have taken a quiet backseat this year.

In short, 8 hours uninterrupted by sleep or work is pretty amazing. 

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Of course, a big reason I am even able to live this routine is because my wife is around at home to take care of things. 

I may go to sleep at 7 in the morning. But before noon my sleep would certainly be ruined by an Amazon delivery and three phone calls unless she's there to attend them.

Since I was 17, I've had what I can only describe as a difficult relationship with the need to sleep. For many years I rebelled against it with the thrill of partying or the rush of working. Or both.

As I type this, I wish I didn't have to sleep. But it's 8am already. My eyes are heavy and the morning seems so bright that it hurts when I look outside the window.

Maybe it's time I close the curtains and go to sleep looking forward to making that cup of tea when I wake up.