Staying Productive Late at Night

Whether we’d like to admit it or not, we have all found ourselves in a situation that has left us with a good amount of work that still needs to done at some of the latest hours of the night. It’s already late and just the thought of the long to do list is already making you tired. But these situations do come up and no need to worry, there are ways to get through a night full of work that are productive and will get you all done in no time.

Have A Game Plan

While we’re not talking actual sports or games, it is good to have a plan for how you expect the night to go. This will most likely heavily rely on what you have to get done and the work that you still have to do and what is already finished. Looking at your tasks as a huge to do list can be a bit overwhelming, so maybe try tackling your work from a different perspective to get the most out of your productivity. Try making a schedule for yourself and write it out as a time table, that way it is easy to follow as well as less daunting to look at visually in comparison to a long list of tasks. Make sure you allow yourself a realistic amount of time to focus your attention on individual things you need to do. Not giving yourself enough time will set unrealistic expectations and it will not let you focus on the task at hand if you’re constantly looking at the time and speeding through without putting careful attention to what you’re actually working on in front of you.

Get ready for the long night ahead by setting realistic timelines and deadlines for yourself throughout the evening. This will keep you focused on doing one thing at a time and lets you give your full attention to getting things right the first time around rather than rushing through a section just to be done with it and at the end of it all spend more time editing your “finished” work and fixing something that could’ve been done right the first time.

Set Up Your Environment For the Night

This is a big part of how the rest of the night will go. Setting plays such an important role in your focus and how efficient you will work for the hours ahead. By placing yourself in the right environment, you are preparing yourself not just for success but for a comfortable and worry-free night of productive work.

Pick a spot to work that will not distract you from getting your work done. An ideal place would be somewhere that is well-lit, noise-free, and have a sturdy table/surface for you to work at. Stay away from choosing a bed or a couch or anywhere that is too comfortable because that will only make you sleepy once the later hours hit and it’s also not very comfortable to sit and work at for long periods of time. Try not to work where there will be a lot of movement, such as people coming in and out of a room or where the television will be blaring and on as a distraction. These things may be okay at first but as time goes on it will become more and more distracting and could become irritating once you’ve been trying to work for a few hours.

Work Hard, But Not All At Once

Once you’ve got your plan and your spot for the night, you are ready to get to work! Starting off can either go one of two ways: you either hit the ground running and start working right away, or you stare at your work wondering where to even begin and how to even start it all off. Everyone works differently, but one thing that is certain is that we can only focus and give our best work for a certain amount of time. If you need to take a break to look over what you’ve already done or just to close your eyes and take a couple minutes for yourself to re-center your focus, take that time! This isn’t a race, you know you have a long night ahead of you and while it may be tempting to just drill it all out in an hour, sometimes that just isn’t smart or realistic. Give your brain the appropriate breaks so that you can keep your focus sharp.

Be Smart About Distractions

This doesn’t mean find all the things that can distract you and put them in the room with you. It means that if you do have little things that you believe will help you work better and more efficient then go ahead and incorporate them into your routine for the night. Let’s say you’re someone that needs a background noise or music or else the silence drives you crazy. Try playing a show that you’ve already seen and know what happens so you’re not tempted to stare at the TV screen because you don’t want to miss something. Also keep the music low and pick music that you won’t be tempted to sing along to that way it serves more as background noise and it doesn’t turn into a karaoke session later in the night when things are in the final stretch.

With the long night ahead of you, it is easy to have little to no motivation to finish off the night strong, but with these tips your late night will go by in a flash! Remember to just work smart and stay focused on the work in front of you instead of sitting there worrying about how much you have to get done as a whole.  Remember that a late night of work doesn’t necessarily mean a tedious one!