The Single Most Important Productivity Tip

samuel.d.kang

Registered
I’m guilty of this. Having my iPhone near by bed constantly tempts me browse endlessly and aimlessly on social media, forums, and email. There was a period I left all electronics outside of the bedroom and man did I knock out right when my head hit the pillow. Honestly, not sure how I ended up breaking my no bedtime tech streak. Amazing how technology sneaks back in! Great reminder to try this again and improve quality of sleep.

Thanks Dave!
 

Oogiem

Registered
I have the luxury of being able to (with only a few exceptions) go to bed and get up whenever I want. So I just go to sleep when I am tired, and get up when I wake up. I usually have at least 1 waking period each night sometimes 2. Over the course of the last 10 years or so I tend to average about 7 hours of "resting" time each night. Yes, sometimes I wake up and can't get back to sleep but it's usually because I now have ideas on some problem I was working on. That's why I keep a notepad by the bed and can take notes without turning on the light or using my phone. I process them in the morning. Never got in the habit of checking tech in bed, I don't even read in bed, so it's no problem to have my phone there and since that's the only phone and important in case of emergencies I don't mind having it there.
 

samuel.d.kang

Registered
I have the luxury of being able to (with only a few exceptions) go to bed and get up whenever I want. So I just go to sleep when I am tired, and get up when I wake up. I usually have at least 1 waking period each night sometimes 2. Over the course of the last 10 years or so I tend to average about 7 hours of "resting" time each night. Yes, sometimes I wake up and can't get back to sleep but it's usually because I now have ideas on some problem I was working on. That's why I keep a notepad by the bed and can take notes without turning on the light or using my phone. I process them in the morning. Never got in the habit of checking tech in bed, I don't even read in bed, so it's no problem to have my phone there and since that's the only phone and important in case of emergencies I don't mind having it there.
Sometimes I have an idea in bed so I “try” to write it on my notepad. Problem is one, I have no light since I don’t want to wake my wife up and two, I’m still half asleep.

When I wake up in the morning and look down on my notepad I ask, “What the heck did I write down?” Hahaha it’s all just scrambled scribbles slapped all over the page.

If it’s really important I’m sure it’ll nag me again later in the day lol
 

Oogiem

Registered
Problem is one, I have no light since I don’t want to wake my wife up and two, I’m still half asleep.

When I wake up in the morning and look down on my notepad I ask, “What the heck did I write down?” Hahaha it’s all just scrambled scribbles slapped all over the page.
Several ideas if you consider it important to capture the data your write at night. I also, cannot turn on a light or I'l wake my husabnd, not a good thing <G> So... Here are my top tips for nightime notetaking:

  1. Use a pen not a pencil. Pencil leads break and its really a PITA to try to recover from that in the morning.
  2. Put your thumb and forefinger of the non writing hand in a parallel fashon and on the page, That gives you a set of "lines"withi nwhich to write.
  3. Process nightime notes ASAP in the morning, even bofore or during first morning coffee. Trust me, It does not get more readable later in the day.
  4. If you forget to click the pen to write or it runs out of ink or, or, or. Next morning take a soft lead pencil, take each page and carefully shade in as if you are doing a rubbing. If you do it correctly you can usually recover 90+% of what you wrote.
  5. Set up the notepad so you turn it 180 degrees or switch the page and don't write over the last note. If you are unclear when you wake up what orientation you need to write in, turn the paper 90 degrees and make a palimpset. You will be amazed at how much you can recover of the 2 layers that way.
  6. Buy and use cheap notepads and use plenty of paper. It's not uncomon for me to go through 20-30 pieces of paer making nightrime notes. Space between letters and words make it far more readable in the morning.
Hope that helps.
 

Oogiem

Registered
Have you seen the theory that this is the natural human pattern?
Yes, and once I read that and a lot more I quit worrying about my sleep so much. I can go to bed when I want to and wake up when I am ready. Sometimes I spend several hours in the middle of the night awake and "resting" but often making notes or working things out in my brain. It all seems ok to me.
 
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