I’m so tired of tips and strategies for becoming a morning person.

All you have to do is Google “becoming a morning person” and you’ll see what a hot topic it is. Most of the articles have titles about “why you’re not a morning person” and “how to trick yourself into becoming a morning person.” It can make you feel like you’re missing out. And there are steps that will help you change your ways. Soooo many steps.

Just like I don’t want to “acquire a taste” for beer, I don’t want to trick myself into becoming a morning person.

Michael Hyatt is one of the big proponents of becoming a morning person.

He says “morning people” tend to…

• make more money
• be more productive
• be healthier and live longer
• be more happy and satisfied in their lives

I’m sure his program is terrific. You can read more here.

However…may I suggest it’s because of HOW those people are spending their time, not WHEN?

It may also not be causal. The people who force themselves to become a morning person are probably more driven and motivated people in general. They’re going to make more money and be happier and healthier because they work hard to live their best life, not because they rise before the sun. They’re just being brainwashed into thinking being a morning person is one more critical step on their “how to be an awesome human” journey. 

I believe night owls can be awesome humans, too.

I’m productive. I set my intentions for the day. I take care of my health and my well being. I just do it at night.

[tweetthis]Your daily habits matter more than the time of day you practice them. [/tweetthis]

The thing is, I’ve never had a normal sleep pattern. I’ve had to get up early during different seasons of my life but…

my preferred sleep schedule would be 1:00am to 9:00am and in the summer, it is.

And I’m tired of the constant stream of admonitions to become a morning person.

I love nighttime!!

As a HSP (Highly Sensitive Person), the noise, sights and sounds of daytime are stimulating and distracting.

Sunshine, birds chirping, people rushing about, all the possibilities a new day brings…they make it impossible for me to do my best writing, my biggest dreaming and my most focused studying.

In the morning, I can strategize, revisit my goals, answer emails and even do housework. Mornings are when I’m more introspective and slow-moving. 

Afternoon is prime time for projects, puttering, kids and errands. I have high energy levels in the afternoon. I do art, prep for events, shop. This is when I try to schedule client meetings, too.

Evenings mean homework, dinner and getting the boys to bed.

But when night set in…when the sun goes down, the world goes quiet and my house is still…that is My Time.

“It’s our time. It’s our time down here.”

Nighttime is my time to write, focused and distraction-free.

It’s when I also prep for the next day, tie up loose ends, read a book, have my tea and sometimes even watch TV.

I get done what needs to get done. I just do what a lot of people do in their first two hours in my last two hours.

Or I get it done in the middle of the day so at night I can relax and unwind.

I plan my sleep just like morning people do…I just plan it for 11:00pm to 7:00pm.

So for any of you out there feeling guilty about not becoming a morning person…

let’s let go of the night owl guilt.

For the night owls…

I have a whole post about how A Smooth Morning Starts The Night Before. I like to get it done at night so I can sleep better. You can read it here.

I also wrote about Five Things You Can Do Tonight to be More Productive Tomorrow. click here.

Maybe I’ll do a follow-up post on becoming a night owl. Any takers?

[tweetthis]Let go of the night owl guilt. Not everyone has to be a morning person.[/tweetthis]

And just so you know…you can throw around statistics and studies about becoming a morning person and I can tell ya…I just don’t care. 

****Read this article I just found about why the world needs to start respecting night owls more!