Daily Routine & Sleep

Q: What time do you usually get up? A: About half past six on weekdays, though I wouldn't say I'm naturally a morning person — it's more that I've found getting up at roughly the same time most days makes the day feel more coherent. On weekends I'll sleep until seven thirty or eight if nothing is pulling me out earlier. Q: Are you a morning person or an evening person? A: Evening, fairly consistently. I tend to think more clearly and feel more creative in the hours after dinner than I do first thing in the morning. I've worked with this rather than against it — I save easier routine tasks for mornings and keep harder creative or analytical work for afternoons and evenings. Q: Do you think you get enough sleep? A: Probably not on average. I function on about six and a half hours most nights, which research tends to suggest is below optimal for most people. I notice it when I'm tired — decision quality drops noticeably. I've made several attempts to move my sleep earlier and managed it for a few weeks each time before reverting. Q: Has your daily routine changed in the last few years? A: Yes, substantially. Working from home changed it more than anything else — the commute disappeared, which gave me about ninety minutes back each day. I've partly used that productively and partly not, which I think is honest about how people actually respond to having more free time.