Dear People Who Hate on "Night People",

People who claim they are "night people" are up until all hours of the early morning... But what do they do, and why do they always get what they say they will done before their 8:30!? It sucks, right? Well... In college I found myself becoming one. Since I've been back home, the late nights have turned into early mornings, but the multiple long lists I've made diminish during those late hours when everyone else is asleep and I can just sit and work uninterrupted.

It isn't every night you'll find me (or people like me) cranking out our to-do lists, but when the night does come that we can't sleep and want to just get stuff done, it's a beautiful thing. It's as if being tired isn't a feeling on those nights. I have crammed for multiple exams, written long essays, and "read" readings due the next day for my 8:30, 9:30, and 10:30 classes. No, I'm not bragging about this, because while the rest of the waking world is sleeping, I am putting in the same effort you put into your studying, exams, and readings, just at a different time.

I feel proud whenever I have a productive streak, but especially when that streak occurs at night after an extremely busy day. There's no magic formula I took one day to be able to do this, but there are times when I'm on school breaks when I still have small, nonacademic tasks to complete that I will do when I feel restless at night and am not the slightest bit tired.

It's not a feeling you can predict either. Don't assume I can plan my productive cycles around the moon cycle like a werewolf, because I can't. Basically, it'll all start by me laying in bed. Instead of relaxing, I'm normally thinking or making a note on my phone about what I have to do from picking up something from a store to shaving my legs the next time I shower. Then, as I put my phone down and try to lay still, my mind keeps speeding up, not slowing down. There comes a 30-minute span of not falling asleep that is just annoying enough to make knocking out my list(s) seem appealing. During the summer months, I've found I am not knocking out major things, but rather planning what meal preps I want to try for my lunches at work or putting the power-up breakfast recipes I've been accumulating into one Google Doc.

As minuscule as staying up for a few extra hours when you're not tired sounds, the amount you can accomplish without others distracting you or your phone constantly going off can be amazing. Big or small tasks seem easy to accomplish and help make you more tired, so when you go to hit your bed again, this time it'll be for real. You have even fewer things you need to do tomorrow then which means a little extra, well deserved, time for some sleep.

I guess all in all if the work gets done, who are you to judge if while you are working hard in a study lounge, I decided to take a nap? When you go to bed early because you're so tired from all the hard work you did, I am waking up to do mine. We just have different approaches and if that means you are annoyed because you think I'm slacking when I'm actually doing my work while you're curled up under blankets snoring away, shame on you. Don't spread judgment and hate about work ethics or work tactics, just mind your own damn business and get your work done.

Sincerely,

"Night People"