There is nothing more distracting to me than having other people around. If another human is in the room I’m talking to them, whether they like it or not, and just being in the same building with someone creates an urge almost as great. This has always meant that I had to find ways to get things accomplished while the rest of the world slept.

In elementary and high school this meant hours in the hall because I couldn’t shut up in the classroom. I didn’t understand why I behaved the way I did; I just did. In college, this meant waking up after a few hours of sleep to write papers while my roommates slept off the previous night’s festivities. For quite a while as I went through college and then started work, which required some distraction-free time to accomplish the tasks, it was a struggle to find enough efficient time. I would be forced to work late at night because I had spent all day talking to people instead of completing my work.

This limitation could have become my downfall, but as I have learned how, and when, I’m most efficient I have come to relish the hours when the rest of the world sleeps. This is the time when I exercise, write, read, and respond to e-mails. It’s the time when my creative juices flow and I can focus on the task at hand without constantly being distracted. By harnessing this time, it frees me up to interact with people when they’re awake, free from the anxiety that I should be doing something else. I can be present in the moment and not attempting to multitask, resulting in hours of squandered time.

Figuring this time balance out has been a gamechanger for me and I encourage you to analyze how you operate best and work that into your life. Hopefully, it will give you the same freeing efficiency that it has given me. The world is just waking up, so I guess it’s time to move on with my day.