I work best at night - always have done. I resisted this practice at first and tried to be more productive during the day, but it's a struggle and never as fruitful. I was glad to find the nocturnal workers' thread and discover that there are many people who also prefer to work at night.

Problem is, I now have to get up at 8am five days a week for work. Now, I know people all over the world get up at 8am and earlier without complaint, so I realise I probably seem a little silly declaring it a problem. Just wondering whether those of you who are unable to work during your preferred hours have successfully managed to adhere to a new and productive pattern of working. If so, for the love of God tell me how!... please.

It is difficult, I work much better in the evenings, but have a day job. I need to leave the house before 7am... get really tired in the day, then come 9pm wide awake. Even when I go to bed at 10.30pm I can lie there for ages awake. Next morning, struggle to get up and the cycle starts again....
I work one day at home when I sleep in a bit longer and frequently have really long sleeps at the weekends. Let me know if you find a solution...

Oh no! Leaving the house before 7am is my idea of hell! I feel silly complaining now :$

I am exactly the same when it comes to being wide awake at night. My eyes sting when I force myself out of bed in the morning, I am tired (hence unproductive) all day, but cannot sleep at night.

Don't feel silly, early is all relative... and if I leave later, I have to sit on the motorway an extra half an hour. I get in the office before anyone else and have my breakfast there and a nice big cup of T. By the time the office fills up I have got all the important things cleared and can be more relaxed the rest of the day.

Last week I saw a program on sleep.
They were saying you need daylight (or an artificial substitute - I had a couple of biobulbs) to wake up in the morning.
Admittedly they were aiming it at people like postman who have to get up while it's still dark, but I've been opening the curtains as soon as the alarm goes off and it really does help.
You can also get special "alarm" clocks that wake you up using light and sound rather than just a loud ring.

Hi bleebles, I am a bit of a night owl too, or rather productive between late afternoon and 2am ish! I end up in this routine when I am off work, holiday or writing, but normally I have to work 9-5! I do struggle in mornings and find myself more productive in the afternoon, luckily I'm flexi time so sometimes I do say 11-7 shift just so I get more done in my day during my productive hours!

As BigBadDom said, you get light alarm clocks. I bought one a couple of years ago to help me in winter mainly, and it is very helpful, and a necessity now! You programme it to go off at your normal time but for about half hour before (depending on chosen light intensity) it slowly lights up your room naturally as in the Summer.

I think ours cost about 80£ off amazon, but I would say it has been very very worthwhile purchase, and my partner and I now couldn't live without it, especially in winter.

Thanks guys. I will certainly look into these alarm clocks, but I'm a little skeptical; I can happily sleep through the sun bursting through my open curtains no matter what time of the year it is. Maybe I was just built wrong! Still, I would love nothing more than to be one of those morning people, so it's certainly worth a try (up)