Nite Owl

There’s a lot to be said for bashing out new work at half-one in the morning when you’re meant to be in bed. There’s the illicit thrill of the underground developer, working while the world sleeps. More importantly, there’s solitude—there’s escape.

There are no clients emailing you, no family members on the phone asking for technical help. No colleagues to bother you (especially if you’ve disconnected, which I invariably have). I wouldn’t be surprised if Dan Cederholm had redesigned SimpleBits at this time of night.

It’s late, you’re tired, you’ve relaxed and your mind wanders. Night takes the pressure away: fresh ideas emerge, sure of a better reception than during the hurried day. Not all of them will be great, but jot them all down (or better yet, just build something) and you’ll be able to work out which ones to use and which ones to throw away tomorrow.

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While I agree that a late-night stint, focused and with purpose, can be an adventure and give you that special feeling that you are a bit of a lonely warrior fighting the good fight, I’ve recently come to the conclusion that as soon as those late-night stints become the norm and your sleeping cycle adjusts thusly, there’s a problem.

In my case, I felt like a recluse, working in a vacuum of humanity, devoid of faces and voices that would usually accompany me.

And this concludes this completely unrewarded and boring comment, filled with inadequate thought of someone who only philosophises to impress the girls.

Yes, you’re proably right about that. In fact, it might just be that if you can only be creative at night, something is probably wrong in the day (whether that be your environment, your work patterns, or simply your attitude).

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