Back as a Night Owl

I remember when I was studying at Aalborg University. It's already more than 15 years ago.

Back then, in my early 20s, it was no problem to pull all-nighters, build Meebox, study for my software engineering degree, and go to parties - all at the same time.

I used to say, "I can sleep when I'm dead" - half joke, half serious.

I also remember those long nights as being super productive. In general, the least productive hours for tasks that require uninterrupted focus, like programming, are the regular office hours. They can be a disaster. More often than not, you're facing a never-ending stream of interruptions, and you rarely get 2-3 hours of uninterrupted time to dive deep.

It's possible, of course... but it's not easy.

Which is why those night-hours were great. Everyone else was sleeping, and no one was disturbing me.

Anyway, that was 2009.

Fast forward to 2025 and 35-year-old me. Some things never change, but one thing sure has: You can forget all about all-nighters now!

Since launching Herodesk 18 months ago, I've been close to religious about getting 7-8 hours of sleep every night and preferably hitting the pillow at the same time every evening, too.

I still have those great "uninterrupted hours". Instead of during the night, it's from 5 am to 7 am.

Why suddenly sleep that much, you ask? If I don't get those hours in but revert to the 5-6 hours of sleep I got when I was younger, it feels like a hangover when I wake up, and my productivity is gone for the day.

So, since this new routine is working for me and numerous books and studies emphasise the importance of good sleep - why not?

This has been working great for me for 18 months. Wake up a bit before 5 am, 2 hours of focus work, some family time and then a regular work-day from 8 am to 4 pm. And with my fully remote setup at Herodesk, I can still get focus time during "office hours".

What do you think happens when you throw a newborn baby in that mix? 😅

You unwillingly and unintentionally resurface your career as a night owl.

I honestly had no idea what was coming, and it hit me like a freight train at full speed.

The new reality is 5-7 hours of interrupted sleep over a 9-hour time span (some of my friends have called that "baby on easy-mode" - I don't know, I still find it tough) and many more interruptions.

So if you need to put in some extra hours to make ends meet, you pull out the laptop when you can - which is usually when mummy and baby are sleeping, regardless of what the clock says (fx now, Sunday morning at 5 am - I can't sleep, but they can).

It's not as "optimal" as before (what does that mean, anyway?) regarding work, but it's okay, because something more important has become part of my life.

We're only "four weeks in", but we make it work. I can prioritise and spend a lot of time with my family and I still get shit done at work.

It's tough, like nothing I've ever tried before. Still, I feel like the luckiest man alive!