15 May 2001
Last year: So there you have it, kids: Spirituality and tantric sex, available from CVS drugstores everywhere for less than $10.
Sometimes, I really wish I was my Meade Hall character Zoya. Or at least, I wish I had some of her abilities. I'm not even talking about the magical power she weilds, though that would be pretty cool. I'm talking about her ability to survive - even thrive - on four hours of sleep a night. The only times Zoya's ever slept past dawn were when she was wounded. Seriously.
I need that ability. I keep getting sucked into these late-night talks on IRC. Or rather, I get sucked into an evening chat on IRC that lasts until the-gods-only-know-how-late. I very strictly informed Karen and Ashby last night that I was not staying up past midnight. I did get to bed around 12:15 or so, but only because of my own willpower. No one else seemed about to go to bed.
Of course, Karen doesn't go to work until 1, most days, and Ashby isn't working at the moment. So they can sleep late. My alarm starts going off at six. (I thwapped it this morning until almost 6:30. Despite the disturbing dream where I had these enormous bumps on my nose that were growing into extra nostrils.)
Not that anyone at work would know if I came in an hour late; or that they'd be too concerned if I started coming in at 9:30, even. But here's the thing: I'm not really an early morning person. If I'm left to my own devices for a few weeks, my day shifts. I sleep until 9:30 or so, and then stay up until 1 in the morning. That's a comfortable sleep cycle for me.
But I discovered about three years ago that even if I could get permission to keep that schedule at work (and I could probably come close, here - my officemate comes in most days around 9:30) it wouldn't work out for me. I'm most productive in the morning. Before noon. And it's really best before about 10.
Some days, when a programming problem has been weighing heavily on my mind, I'll come in and start poking around at it before I even write my journal entry. Some days, I'll put off reading my daily comics and journals until noon, just because there's something I need to get done.
I work quickly and efficiently before 10 in the morning. No matter what time I got up. No matter how little sleep I got. (I take that back: As long as I got at least 5 hours of sleep. Less than that, and I might as well just call in sick for all the good I'm going to do anyone.) After 10, I start to slow down. Around 11 or so, I'm ready to come up for air. And it takes an impending deadline or a really fascinating problem to make me go back down after lunch.
I'm not saying I don't work after lunch! Don't get me wrong! But in the afternoon, my mind won't focus on the problem at hand. It skips around, and so I work more slowly, and less elegantly. I often make it a point to check over afternoon work first thing the next morning, just to make sure I didn't do something too stupid.
And what's more, I actually enjoy my work most in the morning, when I can get into "the zone" and blow right through some problem. It's exhiliarating.
So that's it for me: I'm at work at 7:30. I try to have this journal entry written and posted by 8. And if I'm not done reading my daily comics and journals by 9, I'll put the rest off until lunchtime. If I came in late, I'd lose half of what little productive time I have.
Most days, I don't even really mind being at work at 7:30. It's dark and quiet and relaxing.
I just wish I could still stay up until 1.
Word of the Day:
ponderous - of very great weight; unwieldy or clumsy because of weight and size; oppressively or unpleasantly dull: lifeless
Currently Reading:
- nothing
Current Projects:
- Kris' afghan
- garden