by Eldari Visser
I recently read an article with a lengthy discussion about people that are early risers and the positivity around that. Early birdies and worms. How a person can get lots more done in the early hours of the morning and that it is good for your body, soul and mind to jump up, get some sunshine at the early stage of the sunrise in the morning, feeling fresh and get so much more done. Right!
For a while there I felt conflicted for the fact that I am not an early riser. I don’t do anything with the first rays of the sun coming over the horizon. I really love my wonderful cosy blankets and get my best sleep just before I have to wake up. I function a bit “ later” in the day but I am very efficient and get my tasks done thank you!
The whole concept of the article was actually about procrastination. If you are working later in the day rather than early and you still get the job done, why do they equate this to procrastination? I can’t quite understand it. Although we sleep late or hang around early in the morning, we can still put out 100% of what is needed, heck even more! Well, that’s just me. I do work most during the day do but I prefer to be a late starter.
Let’s get going on what this blog is all about. The nocturnals! As you know, I always like to compare our business world to nature and its wealth of lessons. I researched the night “life” of the nocturnal world and discovered great tactics for your businesses from these typical characters who operate in the night.
Here are 5 good reasons why nocturnal work hours can work for you.
1. You are the predator. We all know and have seen so many television programmes, Netflix, documentaries and series’. I just imagine Sir David Attenborough‘s calm voice telling us about the beautiful nightlife in the forest. Wonderful things happen during the night but we are sure that come the night time, the predator is at its best - look, a lion loves sunlight because they use the brown golden grass to hide from the buck, then rest either under a tree in the shade or between the long grass, but they are pretty lethal at night too. Many predators, like lions, tigers, mountain lions, leopards and other variants of predators prefer night hunting. They have the perfect camouflage partner…darkness. They can sit for hours, just waiting, planning their exact moment to strike at the enemy. So that is one good reason to be a nocturnal “predator”. Your head is clearer because you have no other issues on your table usually at this hour. You can sit down without any noise around you, plan exactly how you want to take the next step where necessary, or maybe get that massive report done at last. Maybe it is the time when you have to think like a predator because there are problems in the bushes….or you want to jump or pounce into a new level of growth, a new step, a new direction, and you need to have your checking “instinct or gut” mode switched on in your brain. At night the plans are usually coming in good and fast.
2. You can behave like the forest’s little scavengers at the bottom of the basin. Between the leaves and the roots. I kind of like these little creatures. They run quickly from point A to B without anybody disturbing them. Do you also get annoyed at the supermarket when there are just too many people in the shop? For this very reason I love to go late at night when my supermarket is quieter and I can browse the shelves at leisure. Nobody is there bumping me around, no trolleys in the way, and I really feel that my head is much clearer to make sense of the very small print on packaging - well that might just be my eyesight. Ok, it is much cooler and calmer in summer evenings. Our little wild creatures also like night time shopping. They don’t even need a trolley! Some literally stuff their faces! They can grab fruit or seeds or leaves, whatever they feed on, and peacefully just sit there for a while. Pick and nibble a few and stash the rest in their cheeks. Yet they are very alert all the time - if they make a mistake, they are fully aware of the dangers lurking in the dark that would go for them in full force. They are aloof and careful. They instinctively know what to listen out for and they know when they can sit for a while before they’ve got to rush to safety. We can drink a coffee and have some biscuits or our tub of ice cream and sit quietly outside with our bum on the ground and just clear our head. No noise. In this moment you can get more clarity on what exactly it is that you want to change or do in your business, what challenge needs to be faced, a problem that you need to sort out, or maybe just a difficult project. It’s usually when you quieten down and just sit and listen to the night sounds that you get that ‘Aha’ moment. Our little scavengers have big ears to tune in. So, tune in to what is going on in the business world. What is it “saying?“ Internalise it and use that during your think-tank evenings. In the quiet of the night you can properly plan a new concept, product or service. Discover something new for your business or decide on your important decisions. Do take your coffee, run to a notebook, and pen those thoughts down. Then you can tackle the new day.
3. Being a bush baby. I think these are the most gorgeous little creatures and many wouldn’t mind to have one of these in their house, but they were not made for captivity. It’s very sad that the human decided to take many out of their habitats and keep him in cages. These are little flyers. Bush babies usually jump from tree to tree to go and find food for the family. A bush baby can feed over a large area because they can move swiftly in the tree tops highly above in the canopies. They do this very quietly and graciously. They can jump very high and their eyesight is very good. They are also quiet grazers and it’s very difficult to spot a bush baby. They are very family orientated so every action that each parent does is to focused on taking care of the family and off course keeping predators away from the young ones. Their life is all about their family. Maybe you can relate to the bushbaby. Mom, always running around with to/do lists ,normal tasks and then to focus on the kids for a majority of the day. Once the family is all settled mom moves into her study to work. My kids grew up with many moms who worked this typical scenery. During the day mom, at night the entrepreneur. Can you relate? Mom who works during the day , then afternoons are for the kids and late nights is for mom’s office admin. I can remember those days. Sending out an email late one night without realising that my team was actually snoozing. A very confused team was waiting the next day. Ah ,the joy!
4. Do you consider yourself to be the smaller predator, usually the very sly ones? They can be a smaller cat species and feed on the smaller prey in the forest, but we also get sleazy or slimy characters like snakes, spiders, fat frogs and other nasty creatures. Snakes would love to creep up to the family’s nest like small birds or even with little rabbits. I don’t know if anybody would like to compare ourselves to a snake. Just a note, not all the smaller predators are nasty. At this stage you might decide to rather be a day worker but if you work at night know that like any other “animal” operating at night you have to be cautious and awake. Sometimes we work late at night. Be careful for your safety, work at a safe place, and when you have done your work make sure everything is locked away. Don’t let valuable business information just be “available “for the taking. In the business world you will find the “predator” that will take what they can. I know this is a far stretch but please be careful for the night predator. Talking about the night predator, please back UP your information to the cloud! I have learnt a hard lesson on this a few months ago. Never work at any office alone.
5. Last but not least.The night owl. Their ears are extremely sensitive to sounds coming from all over - like huge satellite dishes. A call from a night owl is beautiful. It brings such a peaceful atmosphere, well, some old folk might disagree. An owl is blessed with a fantastic vision to see exactly where their food orders are and their satellite ears mean they are better equipped than your GPS or Uber to find food. They are mostly out for the hunt, sometimes they call for mates. They are beautiful birds that can fly in stealth mode to surprise any prey. What stands out is that an owl is connected to wisdom. Why? Maybe it’s the way they carry themselves, the way of just sitting majestically on the branch. Nobody can see them there. Just a quick call to a partner to communicate. They know this is key to their survival. They widely call for the right time to strike. They also know which prey will be enough to feed the family for the day. They are not bloodthirsty and don’t go for three or four killings. If you are a night owl you know that it is your time, pondering on the day, your plans, the year so far, etc. Maybe a journal personality would prefer this quiet time to reflect.
The negative side to the above could include:
-strong coffee might have to be at hand when you wake up.
-Mom feeling not so alert as she should be to give kids all her attention.
-The gym is already packed when you get there.
-The traffic must be faced head-on or you have to really leave home quite late.
-It does not fit into normal schedules of your team to work later hours.
-You have extra stress due to long working hours.
-You feel tired due to the lack of sleep if you don’t control your night hours.
In the end a balanced life is still the best way to go. So yes, work at night but be wise in doing so. Here is to my fellow night owls. You are not ridiculously crazy. Just mind the bright lights!
Jungle wishes.
Eldari from Junglewealth
Eldari Visser and her unique company, Picketfence Life, is providing access to information, advice and a powerful network of experts to help consumers find solutions to various serious issues. The company focuses mostly on easy blogs written by financial coaches, lawyers, accountants and tax practitioners, life and business coaches, and even psychologists. It gives practical tips and help and is the expert on your side of the fence. --- You can contact or follow Eldari at www.picketfence.life | Facebook | Twitter | #Junglewealth series
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