Are you a night owl or an early bird?

[Stephen Whiteside]

I never used to give much though to the time of day when I wrote. I just wrote when I wrote. But increasingly over the years my writing time has become more structured, and I now find that I write my best early in the morning. At the end of a long working day my mind is just too addled to be much good to me.

Even during the weekends, though, I'm at my best early in the day. What can't be written on Saturday night can often be written on Sunday morning.

So how early is early? I am generally at my best between about 6 am and 8am, assuming I've gone to bed about 10 the night before. Occasionally I will write earlier. Last week I went to bed with half a poem in my head, and decided it could wait until the following morning. Turned out it could, too, but not beyond about 4! That's too early for my liking these days. I had to go back to bed at 11am for another couple of hours... Fortunately, I didn't have to work the next day!

So, are you a night owl or an early bird?

[Maureen K Clifford]

Both - Night owl as I usually don't go to sleep until about 2am but then the girls think I am an early bird and want to get up at around 5.30 am so basically I am probably sleep deprived I am totally unmotivated to do anything in the mornings, a very slow starter until about 10am these days. Wasn't always like that though, just seems to change the older I get.

[Stephen Whiteside]

Interesting. I've definitely gone the other way - early to bed and early to rise.

[Bob Pacey]

used to be early to bed early to rise but has changed I think it is my prostate ????


Bob

[Stephen Whiteside]

Get rid of it, Bob. It worked for me.