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I Figured Out How to be Productive & Still be a Night Owl.

  • Writer: Slim Jym
    Slim Jym
  • May 11, 2019
  • 9 min read

Updated: May 12, 2019


The phrase "the early bird catches the worm" is often used when referring to success and productivity advising someone that they will have an advantage if they do something immediately or before anyone else does it. As if the only way to achieve success and live a purpose driven productive life is to be an earlier riser or get to the worm first, no one ever talks about how if you aren't a natural early riser, chances are you will still be so disoriented in the morning and spend so much time getting yourself 'prepared' for the day that you lose out on hours of time you could be using to get some rest.



"The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night."

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I remember reciting this quote at Chapel back in Elementary school and somehow it has stuck with me ever since. It's been a constant reminder that success and productivity aren't gonna happen overnight, they require hard work and determination. I'm somewhat of a night owl myself, and at 22 I'm obviously still figuring a lot of things out but here are a few of my own personal tips and tricks to being a productive purpose driven human being while simultaneously being a night owl:


Quick Side-note: Many of these tips will seem cliche but they work, I promise.



Tip 1: Keep Your Environment Clutter-free


I know everyone has heard the " cluttered space, cluttered mind; clear space clear mind, " line over and over but it's true. I find when my room is a mess and or my kitchen is a mess, I'm less likely to get things done. I can never bring myself to cook in a messy kitchen, when it comes to my room its even worst. If my room is messy, procrastination flourishes, I always tell myself I'll start work once I straighten my room up a bit. Then I spend a whole hour or two cleaning my room, and when I'm done cleaning I'm too tired from cleaning to get work done *upside down face emoji* so I'd take like a 3 hour nap to recover. And there you have it 5 hours of being counter-productive. If you keep your environment clean say clean up every Saturday and make sure to return things to their "spot" after you use them, you'll find you have more time to play with as well as you feel more motivated to get things done because you have one less excuse.


Tip 2: Create a Sleep Friendly Environment


In order to ensure you still get your 8 hours of sleep everyday I would advise working until 3/4 am and then setting an alarm to wake up at 10/11 am and start your day. Normally from 5-6am the sun is rising, to avoid being woken up by bright lights or loud sounds from everyone else waking up it would be wise to get blackout curtains, a sleep mask and either earplugs or play your sleep music loud enough to drown out those sounds. This will ensure that while the early risers are done with their rest and up and out working you can still get peaceful rest for most of the morning.


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Tip 3: Create Routines


Having a routine for each part of your day or important tasks will help to maximize time as well as make sure you are aware of what you should be doing at any given point throughout your day. For me my morning routine involves me waking up, getting breakfast and washing dishes, working out (helps with energy), showering, morning skincare. After my morning routine I lowkey take a nap to prepare myself for the afternoon routine. In my afternoon routine I try to do anything that has to be done in the day so that includes meetings, going to appointments, grocery shopping, picking up mail, going to classes, watching shows etc., as well as get lunch because food is life * drooling emoji*. Finally my night time routine and the busiest part of my day, includes dinner, washing my dishes, night-time skincare and all the things that are on my to-do list for that day so creating posts, writing blog posts, editing videos, studying, assignments, sending emails etc. By breaking my day up into 3 routines my day is already structured the only changes to be made would be based on my to-do list.


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Tip 4: Get Rid of Bad Habits


Getting rid of bad habits is probably the most challenging part of the journey to optimum productivity. You want to minimize time spent doing anything that is taking away from you being productive. For me thats surfing the Internet, scrolling on social media for HOURS, watching Netflix, and cook and cleaning outside of my scheduled cooking and cleaning times. For many people drinking, smoking, socializing and games take up a lot of their time. Try to do less of these things or just don't do them at all for a period and see if you see an increase in productivity results.


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Tip 5: Don't Multitasking


This was honestly the hardest step for me to follow. I'm a serial multitasker, I watch TV shows while talking to people, listen to podcasts while in the shower or cleaning, watch movies while cooking. I think this is because at any given moment there are a million and 10 things I want to be doing and I sometimes think it's possible to actually do them all. Lol it's NOT. Every time I try to multitask I find myself spending extra time doing the original task because I have to keep rewinding the show, podcast, or book because I missed something while focusing on the main task. I've found that the best way to combat multitasking is to create a schedule for each day and stick to it, so if you have 10 things to do, break them up based on where they fit into your routine and then allocate a time frame to complete that task. By creating the schedule you can ensure that you get all of the important stuff out of the way and add breaks to the schedule so you can eat and still do the things you like doing without having to divide your attention for any one task. When you give each task your undivided attention you realize that you have fewer errors, finish quicker and generally feel more accomplished. I find using the Pomodoro Technique really helps with this.


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Tip 6: Try Your Best Not To Oversleep


When you oversleep it generally just messes up your sleep pattern and your body gets so used to sleeping longer hours that when you want to be awake and being productive all your body will be telling you to do is sleep. If you continue a pattern of oversleeping the chances of you never getting much done are high because your body will become addicted to sleep so its best to just get your 8 hours. Oversleeping is just like over drinking the recovery period is unnecessarily long. To avoid this try setting alarms, hooking it up to your speaker and putting your phone say in the bathroom or closet so you have to physically get up to turn off the alarm. You can also try getting a friend to give you a wake up call. After a while of maintaining your scheduled sleep times from 3am-10 am your internal clock will be set to your schedule and eventually you'll just wake up at 10am all on your own.



Tip 7: Exercise


Earlier I mentioned that working out being a part of my morning routine helps with energy and I must say it truly is a game changer. Kick starting my day with a work out truly made me feel like I could do everything I had on my to do list. If you're a night owl then chances are heading to the gym at 6am will never work for you. Working out for an hour or two after your afternoon routine or right before your night routine starts will give you the kick of energy that you'll need to get through the night.


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Tip 8: Pick a Career or Job that Allows You to be A Night Owl


This last tip is pretty simple and straight forward. It's simply saying " get in where you fit in" . If you're not an early riser it would be ideal to find a job or career that allows you to capitalize on your increased productivity at night. However if for any reason you are unable to find a job that caters to your night owl lifestyle I would advise speaking to your direct supervisor or boss to see if you are able to potentially go in to work at a later hour and do all the intense tasks when you have to get done at home at night to ensure that they are completed more effectively, efficiently and most importantly with less errors.


Anyone that knows me knows I'm all about the hacks/tricks, so here are seven (7) tricks to help with creating a productive lifestyle as a night owl:

Trick 1: Find an App for it


I love when I can find an app that can help make even the simplest tasks easier. I have an app for EVERYTHING; my to-do list, my workouts, daily devotionals, cooking recipes, scheduling and planning, meeting people, reading, travelling, birth control; you name it, I have an app for it. In today's smartphone driven age, apps can provide you with notifications for when you need to do be doing a particular task as well as provide resources for a task that would take you valuable time surfing the web to find.


Trick 2: Plan Your Day the Night Before/ Create a Schedule


By planning ahead it ensures that you don't forget anything on your to-do list and important events don't slip through the cracks. Make sure to include how much time you think each task will take to make sure you don't over book yourself.


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Trick 3: Manage Your Screen Time


When you efficiently manage the amount of time spend on your phone, computer or table it helps you to realize just how much of your day you waste frivolously.


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Trick 4: Create A Sound Track for Each Routine


For each of your daily routines it would be great to create a playlist to get you in the mood to get things done as well as get you through each task with little to no stress. Personally I listen to music while doing everything because music is my therapy but having a playlist with songs to get you ready or help you get through each routine is helpful. My morning routine playlist starts off with Act Up- by City Girls followed by Toast by Koffee, my workout playlist has hype songs like Big Bank and Mo Bamba to keep me amped. You could choose to listen to books while on the way to work or podcasts in the shower, or music while cooking and cleaning its up to you just have a soundtrack to keep you focused and keep your mind from wondering on aimless idle thoughts. When studying or doing intense tasks that required my undivided attention I usually listen to Classical music and it truly helps.


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Trick 5: Turn Off Notifications


Turning off notifications for apps that are not important helps you to cut down on distractions because you're not constantly stopping work to check your phone. You can also try assigning a special tone or notification sound for the important stuff and just ignore all the others.



Trick 6: Brain Dump


Before you start planning your day or week try sitting down and writing all your thoughts, ideas, things you need to get done and everything thats going on in your head down. It'll help you combat the overwhelming thoughts of where to get started. Once you've brain dumped you can separate each item into whatever part of your routine it fits as well as get rid of useless information.


Trick 7: Take Vitamins


Vitamins are important for our well being as humans but they also provide extra energy (in my opinion). I seldom remember to take my vitamins but I've recently been making a greater effort to take them in the mornings with my breakfast. Its only been3 days but I've noticed a difference in my energy levels as well as a lower interest to take a mid-day nap. Most people don't remember to take vitamins everyday but if you incorporate it into a part of your routine it'll easily become a habit. I keep my vitamins in a daily vitamin holder near my bed so that when I'm done eating breakfast they're in eye-view and I can take them just then.



Those are all my tips and tricks on how to be a productive night owl. In conclusion I'd like to stress that it doesn't matter if you're an Early Riser or a Night Owl, success and productivity are attainable once you put in the work.

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