The Power of Dawn , not a night owl or an early bird but a chameleon!

 For the longest time, I convinced myself that I was a night owl. I would stay up late, telling myself that my brain functioned best when the world was quiet and everyone was asleep. I believed pushing through the night was the only way to be productive, even when exhaustion crept in. But recently, my perspective has undergone a radical shift.

Whenever people spoke about the circadian rhythm, like many, I told myself—"That's BS!" I have read and watched countless content creators and researchers claim that LIGHT is the one thing that can change our rhythm. So, I convinced myself that if I could mimic a morning-like environment at night, I’d be at my peak productivity, right? Well, I was absolutely wrong.

Also, my parents and grandparents always insisted that the morning was the best time to study. But being my rebellious self, I did the exact opposite—determined to prove them wrong. However, after years of struggling with focus, energy crashes, and inefficient study habits, The truth was, that I wasn't really studying at night—I was just distracted. Whether it was scrolling through my laptop, watching videos, or getting lost in mindless activities, my so-called "productive" night owl habits were actually just procrastination in disguise.

 I found myself preferring to do the easier tasks like studying English or revising social but I could never really get myself to rigorously solve problems or learn intricate concepts After years of struggling with focus, energy crashes, and inefficient study habits, I finally decided to question my assumptions.

This mindset is especially ingrained in Indian students. Since childhood, we have been repeatedly told by our parents, teachers, and grandparents that “morning is the best time to study.” But instead of following their advice, many of us instinctively rebel. We want to prove that we can do it our way. Staying up late gives us the illusion of independence as if we’re defying old-school rules and taking control of our schedules.

But in reality, we’re just victims of our own ego and social conditioning. The irony? The very adults who preached morning study sessions often had years of experience backing their words. They weren’t blindly giving advice; they knew that mornings offer clarity, focus, and better retention. Yet, driven by the desire to be different, we stubbornly ignored them. The truth hit me hard: I wasn’t being disciplined; I was sabotaging myself.

The book that influenced my shift was The One Thing, which discusses how willpower is not always on will-call. It emphasized the importance of structuring our days so that we tackle our most important tasks when our energy and focus are at their peak. This concept reinforced the idea that mornings when my willpower and clarity were at their strongest, were the best time for studying (in this case.) The writer considers willpower to be like the battery percentage on our phone, just as we make decisions it drains, faster than we could ever imagine( This belief is flawed which I have elaborated in this blog: https://experimentforefficiency.blogspot.com/2025/03/the-optimization-odyssey-life-as-lab.html ). 

One of the biggest advantages I noticed was the clarity of thought in the morning. Unlike late-night study sessions, where I often found myself rereading the same paragraph multiple times, my morning study sessions were far more efficient. I could understand complex concepts quickly and retain information better.

The turning point came when I read When by Daniel H. Pink. This book shattered my assumptions about productivity and exposed me to the science of chronotypes—the biological rhythms that dictate when we perform at our peak. Pink’s research revealed that while some people are true night owls, the vast majority are naturally wired to excel at cognitively demanding tasks in the morning. This insight, reinforced by countless studies and articles I delved into afterward, forced me to confront a difficult truth: Had I been sabotaging my own efficiency by stubbornly clinging to the belief that I was a night owl?

I’ve come to realize that I am neither a night owl nor a morning bird—I am whatever animal the task demands me to be. After diving into When by Daniel H. Pink and exploring Andrew Huberman’s methods, I’ve learned to optimize my productivity by aligning my focus, energy, and alertness with neuroscience-backed strategies. Instead of rigidly sticking to a specific time of day, I now adapt my schedule based on the nature of the work, leveraging tools like light exposure, movement, and strategic breaks to maximize efficiency whenever needed

I’ve found that I work best by aligning my tasks with the time of day. In the morning, I tackle cognitively demanding tasks like math or problem-solving, when my mind is sharp and focused. Then, as the night sets in, I shift to more creative work like editing, where I can flow more freely and let my ideas develop, mainly because I get hundreds of ideas during the night! I am sure if I am looking to work on a robotics project and I had to brainstorm ideas I would do it late at night.

After speaking with my uncle, who is an extreme morning person, I’ve decided to try out a different approach to my routine. He would sleep at 7 PM and wake up at 2 AM during his engineering semester exams, relying on his roommate to wake him as he went to sleep. His dedication to a strict schedule really made me rethink my own routine. Inspired by his method, I’m testing this out to see if waking up early and optimizing my most productive hours can help me achieve even more in less time. It’s all about adapting and finding what works best for me, just like he did! However, I found myself getting drained as the evening neared and also felt light-headed sometimes so I worked with a better schedule which would help me survive those slow afternoons.

This experiment has taught me the power of aligning my tasks based on what the task was, and while it wasn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, it certainly boosted my productivity.

The ultimate takeaway? If someone calls you "uncool" for being an early bird, get that out of your head. There’s a social stigma in this generation that glorifies being a night owl, but let’s be real—waking up early takes way more effort than just staying up late after downing caffeine. It’s not about being “cool” or “uncool”—it’s about finding what works best for you. Own your routine, whether it’s early mornings or late nights, and don’t let anyone else define your productivity. 

For the past 3-4 years, I focused more on being a night owl than on actually being productive. Everyone around me stayed up late, studying, and I just followed along because it seemed like the "right" thing to do. I was influenced by what I saw others doing—whether it was my friends or productivity influencers—without ever questioning if it truly worked for me.

 My message to you: Don’t just adopt someone else’s routine because your favorite productivity YouTuber or influencer swears by it (like I did for 4 years! ). Experiment with your own schedule, find what truly works for you, and be open to changing things, up until you discover your own rhythm. 

Don’t let social stigma dictate your routine—experiment!

Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Nikita