I'm not a morning person. Never have been, never will be. Just ask my mother.
What does this mean for me as a writer? a mother? a wife?
As a writer my most productive hours are in the afternoon and late night. I love sitting at my computer engrossed in my story while all the little kiddies are tucked up in their beds and my hubby, too. The house is silent around me. The dark night outside my window reflects back the image of me working. No distractions. When I reach my finishing point for the night, I play a few games of Spider Solitaire and check out what my friends have been up to on Facebook. Yeah, that adds another hour or so before I mosey up to bed, but it's my way of relaxing before trying to go to sleep.
As a mother and wife working the second shift is not ideal. My hubby has gently mentioned on several occasions that it's nice to see me at breakfast with the family. This is definitely a much bigger issue during the school year, and I do try harder to keep an earlier schedule then. I try, but not very successfully. In the summer it's not so bad. My kids are getting older and they can all manage to get their own breakfast whenever they wake up. They keep themselves amused during the morning hours that I'm sleeping.
Another issue is that my hubby is a light sleeper and when I come to bed so late, I usually end up waking him. Though the night I slammed my toes into the doorjamb he didn't hear a thing. OUCH! Go figure.
Knowing I'm a second shifter helps me in one way. It takes away the guilty feeling that I should be sitting at my computer every morning at 9 am and be finished by 5 pm. Those hours just don't work for me. It would be nice for my family if they did, but that's not my body's natural rhythms. And I believe this is genetically programmed.
I just had a conversation with my mother. My brother is unemployed and living with her. They have both followed their body rhythms and now stay up until 2 am and sleep until 10 am most days.
See it's genetics!
What's your natural body rhythm?
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