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Poll: What are your prime hacking hours?

113 points by mace ↗ HN
I am mostly a night hacker (most productive around 10PM-2AM), but I am thinking of changing my routine.

Non-engineers too have hours in which they are most productive. Anecdotally, these hours are when they are not forced to sit comatosed in meetings or at their desks.

So, what period of day do you get the most work done?

81 comments

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Edootjuh
My peak is when I have to go to bed and the next day I have something very important to do, for which I have to be well-rested.
kadabra9
I am the EXACT same way.

I'll literally be preparing to go to bed when suddenly an idea pops in my head for a fix/improvement on a project I've been working on.

Four hours and a few git branches later, I kick back with a smug sense of accomplishment and...realize I have to be up in two hours.

Meanwhile, I can block out literally an entire saturday afternoon to work on projects, but usually I just can't seem to catch that same random spark that only seems to strike at like 1am on a Wednesday. I get things done, but am not nearly as razor focused. Maybe its because I planned it out, maybe I just work better late at night, who knows.

I want to capture that spark and place it in a bottle right next to my desk.

mcknz
also fewer distractions at 1am -- easier to concentrate in the wee hours, when it feels like you're the only person on earth.
doki_pen
I feel like my biggest sparks come during times of stress. Maybe it's the brains way of relieving the stress. So a crazy week were I do 60+ hours of something I don't want to do, I'm yearning to work on that side project I've been neglecting.
pavanky
I'd like to think I have two different peak periods depending on the kind of work I am doing.

- 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Usually great for bug fixing and such. - 10:00 p.m.- 2:00 a.m. Usually when I am working on big, solo, projects.

EDIT : Adding am/pm once I realized that the numbers were not unique.

apoo
What I actually do is that I get home from work 7ish, do a little bit of normal stuff and then back on hacking projects at 11 till mmmm sun? okay back to work!
Ixiaus
Mid day is my least productive, usually. The other ends of the spectrum (morning and nights) are my most productive.
stevear
Is the preference for late night because 1) there are less distractions at night or 2) hackers are genetically prone to being night owls?

Personally when left to my own ways will migrate my schedule naturally to be nocturnal. Wake up at 2PM and go to bed at 6AM. I feel happier and am way more productive.

pavel_lishin
I believe that I'm a night owl, but there is most definitely something to be said about knowing with a 99% certainty that you won't be interrupted for the next eight hours.

It would be interesting to move eight hours in either direction, but keep working remotely - would I get my hacking done at night, but when my coworkers and friends are awake and online, or early in the morning, when most people I know are asleep or not online?

oacgnol
At my day job, I code on a medium to large codebase with business requirements and meetings and whatnot, less of what I'd consider "hacking".

Late at night, however, that's when I become more alive and I feel like I'm hacking out things on solo projects.

sudonim
I find night time to contain the quietness I need to let my brain out. I've often wondered if that's artificial and just because everyone else is asleep and not bothering me? Or if it's because Im more creative at night? Or if there's something else going on.
hkarthik
Anecdotally, I've heard most hackers do best at 10PM-3:00AM. I've heard of many switching to an early riser schedule after having families.

These guys go to bed early and do a 4AM wakeup to get in a couple hours of hacking prior to their families waking up. I'm considering making that switch.

doki_pen
I've done it. Ruins the sex life. Of course, everything in moderation. Maybe dedicating a couple of days a week to 4am wake ups would work. But sleep isn't something of a habit and it's hard to keep sleeping at different times.
hkarthik
Alternating days hasn't worked for me. I end up way too tired the next day if I can't get on a consistent schedule.

And yeah, going to bed early and waking up early will definitely cut into time with the spouse. Even if all you do is watch TV shows together.

sceaj
I do best between 10PM-3AM because that's when I get the most uninterrupted time. After the wife and kids go to bed, I'll crawl back out for some hacking. I'd prefer getting up at 4am, but if I do, it's not long before my wife notices I'm gone and then she can't get back to sleep.

However, I've got the sort of job where I have to be there by around 9-10am. Staying up until 2-3am takes its tolls, and many nights I can't stay up much past 9pm due to only getting 4 hours of sleep the night before. If I were able to sleep later, I'd prefer the 10pm-3am shift. I feel and think better after getting up at 4am than when I stay up until 3am, fighting the desire to just fall asleep on my laptop.

TMUX is very nice to have on those nights I have to fight sleep. I almost always end when I'm at the point that I'm too tired to write logical thoughts any longer. I just shut the laptop lid and go to bed, ignoring the fact that I've still got 3 files open in vim and an active ssh connection...

measure2xcut1x
I am definitely most productive in the early morning when my brain is fresh. I would like to take more advantage of late hours but I have found it causes annoying recurring dreams around whatever problem I'm working on. I always wonder if that happens to anyone else.
michaelleland
There's a few of them: 0200,0300,0500,0700,1100,1700,1900, and 2300. Of course, if you include minutes, please see the list here: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=list+of+primes+to+2400
cobbal
I'm not sure about you, but I also find 1:00 PM to be a great hour for hacking.
michaelleland
From wikipedia: A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1...

Edit: apologies, didn't read the "PM" after one. Of course 1300 is a prime of the same pattern, however unlucky it may be.

rails
Between 8PM and Midnight and then after sleeping between 9AM and 12AM. In the Afternoon I prefer to make a little siesta.
SatvikBeri
I have noticed very little correlation between time of day and prime hacking hours. For me, it's whenever I can ensure a 4 hour (or more) chunk of time without meetings/interruptions, which tends to be either early in the day or late at night.
devs1010
Yes, this is definitely true.. the main thing I've noticed is I like to not be a in an environment where its really brightly lit, so time of day isn't important, just if its during day time, I need to be somewhere not right by a window, etc, I find the office I work in currently has a great lighting scheme that seems to keep me where I need to be regardless of time of day
SatvikBeri
That's funny because it's the opposite for me-I work well when it's a bit dark. In fact, when I did Math (which didn't require constant visual feedback), I would do my best work by while keeping my eyes closed for long periods of time.
methoddk
I feel like closing my eyes when I need to do some intense mental math helps tremendously. Really neat.
devs1010
yes, whenever I just get frustrated with thinking something through I close my eyes for a bit, it helps me to refocus
secoif
Note you guys are in fact agreeing, just the parent was written confusingly: "I've noticed is I like to not be a in an environment where its really brightly lit"

Side note: do write code not like this, please.

devs1010
yes, you are right, we are agreeing, I think I put it the way I did since I still like some light, I know some people like to work in what would be considered a "dark" environment, I suppose I prefer more on the side of "dimly lit"
SatvikBeri
Oops, I missed the "not" in devs1010's post. Thanks for the correction.
p4lto
Same deal for me, usually after work is when I don't interruptions but there are days that work is slow and I can get a couple hours of hacking in. Yeah, having a day job sucks in some ways, my sleep schedule is pretty average right now though.
Void_
There's a great way to find out. Track your working cycles and your breaks, and see how long they are at what times.

I made an app that helps you with that, look for Zone on the Mac App Store, if you're interested.

geekytenny
The thought of being interrupted doesn't make me want to start hacking complex stuff. When they are all gone you can do the impossible....
joncalhoun
My hours tend to be 10pm-2am but most of that is probably due to the lack of distractions. Everyone in my house is asleep at 10pm and I have no interruptions.

Is this the same case for others who are working late nights?

narrator
When I used to do contracts in my 20s I would wake up at about 8pm, go out to nightclubs, not drink, come home about 3am then work on code until 11 am and then talk to clients. I would then fall asleep around noon. It was really great because I was really fresh and happy when I went out clubbing and the most annoying part of my day, talking to clients, happened when I was about to fall asleep.
pirateking
This is the schedule I naturally tend to as well.

I usually wake up at around 4 pm, then spend the remainder of the day just hanging out, doing some chores and wasting time on the internet. In the evening I go out to dinner or a bar, and then hang out and play games with friends. I head home once the night is over - usually it is around midnight to 2 am. At this point I am usually bored of distraction, and entering the peak of my waking period. In the quiet solitude of the night, I find myself naturally gravitating into the Zone. On a good night, I can continue invincibly into the afternoon. At this point, I get any necessary email and administrative work out of the way, make sure my work is committed, and fall asleep.

If during a night session, I find myself falling out of the Zone, I simply just go to sleep early. However, this has the unfortunate side effect of shifting my schedule unpredictably for while.

artursapek
At school, when I have nothing to lose by sleeping in, I love nothing more than hacking from ~10pm to 6am and watching the sun rise. Then as everything is opening I usually go grab a donut and come back and pass out until 2-4pm.
sjs
It doesn't matter if I'm excited about what I'm working on.
ChuckMcM
Interesting, Midnight to 3AM has always been a sweet spot for me.It was better before Netflix and Hulu made watching interesting TV possible at all hours and there was a natural lull as broadcasters said good bye to the late owls and waited for the early risers, but I still find just the quiet of the environment persists.
guynamedloren
I'm most productive when the world is asleep, so I usually work from 10PM to 6AM. I answered twice: 10:00PM - 2:00AM and 2:00AM - 6:00AM
DanBC
I feel much better if I get an early night, and wake early before the world starts. I get a lot of stuff done, and it's good. Then I get on with the day.
redthrowaway
I'm a late-night hacker, but I think it's due more to a lack of distractions and a sense of true solitude than any sort of cognitive advantage granted by its placement in my sleep cycle. In fact, any serious hacking session has the unfortunate side effect of completely borking my sleep schedule for the rest of the week.
shasta
Prime hacking hours? 2:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00 and 11:00
chunkybacon
I'm also a big fan of 13:00, 17:00, 19:00 and 23:00
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j45
I'm a night hacker but liking the morning hacking more and more. Lately I'm exhausted by 10:30 pm, go to sleep and wake up at 5 no problem.

I get the same solitude as night time, but with a full, fresh head of energy and a clear mind. Instead of attacking my own projects with whats "left over" in the tank after a day, I get to put my most creative and best effort, first thing in the day, into my own stuff.

For those who work answer this: Do you get paid for your best and creative energy and effort every day, or more your attention to detail and reliability?

The answer to that question will help you decide where you put that best energy for best result.

fshaun
A great point. I'm actually the opposite. I can do detail-oriented things best early in the day (8am-noon) but I'm often at my creative after dinner and into the evening (6pm-10pm) when there tend to be fewer distractions.

This can make multitasking harder or easier. If tasks mesh well you can work on whichever you're better suited to at the time.

j45
That's totally valid.. One thing it might be also be worth paying attention to is our ability to focus during a particular time of day..

My ability to focus creatively or detailed seems to be directly tied to how well rested my mind is.

When I sleep and eat well it's far easier to concentrate and slip into flow.

It's Saturday and I woke up at 7, an hour before my alarm.. I've pretty much cut out all my caffeine, sugar and processed foods. The more I cut out our limit the more my energy soars. I have friends who found the same after citing back beer and certain meats. I'm the guy who lived to sleep in.

Either way I find my energy boosts are like CPU usage.

The less that is taxing my body by what I put in it and drain it with leaves more energy for all the tasks. It's borderline addictive to modify.