To my great surprise, the shift was much easier than I had anticipated. Even during the first week I had no problem waking up at 5-6 am, and going to bed at around 10:30-11 pm. Moreover, at least so far, we have managed to stick to this schedule also on the days (including weekends) that we do not have swimming classes.
There are multiple advantages to being an early bird:
- Before 6 am there is hardly any traffic, both in the city and on highways, so we waste less time on driving.
- I get 2-3 hours of solid work before any other member of my lab shows up! That lets me plan my experiments in peace (piece, just for Alicja) and lets me use all equipment (like microscopes) without any interruptions. Also, having productive mornings puts me in a good mood, and keeps me motivated to work quickly and efficiently for the rest of the day.
- Starting working early means going home early, which I love love love! Thanks to that I get several hours of daylight to do whatever I want, and then, when evening comes, I can start working a bit again and/or reply to emails.
- On the rare days that you get to sleep longer (like to 8-9 am) you wake up feeling like the king of the world, and you still have a whole day ahead of you!
Honestly, that's a big change for somebody like me, who - in the words of my husband - "experiences a peak of her intellectual capabilities at 12:30 am..." Actually, it is a couple hours later, honey, but you are sound asleep by then :)