Here are some miscellaneous thoughts I had as I lied awake Thursday night:
- I love being awake when the rest of the world is asleep. For me, there’s something so relaxing about knowing no one is going to bother me for a bit. On the contrary, being asleep when the rest of the world is awake gives me quite a bit of anxiety. One of my more thought-provoking pieces was written about these late night hours. And another one.
- I tend to be super creative and inspired during these hours. My thoughts and imagination run wild and some of my most creative ideas and breakthroughs have happened when I should have been sleeping. I tend to have to weed out the crazy stuff after I’ve had some sleep though. Not everything I churn out under the influence of delusion makes sense.
- I’m much more more bold and brave during these hours. I’ll comment on a stranger’s post, encourage someone that I might have thought twice about normally, and write more “real” things when I’m awake late at night. If only I kept up that courage all the time..
- I dream during these hours. (Not literally, obviously. This post is about being awake!) I think about the what-ifs and how to make magical things happen. I make plans for putting ideas into action and I often work out kinks in ideas that I haven’t been able to finalize yet. I always feel like I can take on the world during these hours.
- My bed feels soooo comfortable. For those times I stay in bed instead of getting up to be productive, I realize just how awesome and cozy my bed is. I feel like it just swallows me up and hugs me. And then I continue to lie there awake.
- I almost always want to paint. For some reason, I’m always inspired to paint in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, I’m usually too tired to actually give it a shot. Maybe I should! I could be missing out on some Midnight Masterpieces!
- I think about myself more than other people. During the day, my thoughts are usually consumed with other people. Is so-and-so ok? Did I forget to do something for or follow up with someone? Did that person just take my humor in the wrong way? Does someone else need me? During these late nights hours though, I think about myself. My thoughts. My feelings. My dreams and ideas. It’s very refreshing and motivating.
- I’ve done this late night thing every now and then since I can remember, even without steroids provoking it. As a girl, I can remember going to my mom and telling her I couldn’t sleep. (She was always awake too, so genetics probably play a part in this.) She would always tell me to “just go rest.” I didn’t usually fall back asleep, though I did feel more rested the next day than if I’d stayed up. Now when I struggle to sleep, I tell myself to “just rest.” That’s what I did on Thursday, which resulted in a series of quick naps throughout the night. At least some sleep is better than no sleep! (My Fitbit says I slept for 2 hours and 21 minutes.)
- I feel lucky and thankful and grateful in the middle of the night. Oddly, my thoughts are usually super encouraging and positive late at night. I find myself being thankful for my life, my possessions, and my business. I even begin to appreciate the imperfections! This is another item I’d love to carryover into the daylight hours.
- I send all of the emails to my team. I don’t believe it sending business related messages after business hours. (It’s a new thing that I am passionate about…setting boundaries for work and such.) However, when the ideas – the good, the bad, and the ridiculous – are bursting through my mind late at night, I fire away! This is probably a tad overwhelming for my team when they start their work day the next day. I just know that if I don’t send these ideas right then, they’ll have vanished by the morning. Bits of genius only stick around for a moment when they come late at night. And they might be buried among a few absurd options. That’s just how it works.
(Business tip: If you want to go ahead and respond to a business email after hours, type it up and save it in your drafts. Then, send it first thing the next morning. This begins to cultivate a culture of business for you and teaches people when you’ll be available for business discussions. I don’t really care for the term “work-life balance.” Boundaries, however, are important.)
P. S. Someone told me that I should “be a writer” recently and it made my whole week. In reality I am already a writer. However, her insisting that I should be a legit, professional, get-paid-for-it writer was so encouraging and reassuring. It truly means the world to me when you guys comment, mention a specific post, or talk about reading the blog in general. It encourages me more than you know, and I am so appreciative! (I probably shouldn’t have mentioned “being a writer” on this random post. Ha! Oh well. It’s Monday.)
