Nocturnal Animals

cmehner / cc

I am fascinated by them all and gaze endlessly from my fire escape at the bats who swoop ’round and ’round each night in search of mosquitoes in my neighborhood. For most of my life, I have been like them—not eating mosquitoes, of course, but pretty much nocturnal. Seriously, for as long as I can remember, I have stayed up all night working on projects, playing video games, studying, and inventing recipes—it’s just when my creative energies are at their fullest. Being nocturnal in a non-nocturnal world, however—that is the challenge. Most of us need to keep office hours that are from the land of the living, so the balance can be tricky. I continually try to achieve this balance. While some coworkers get excited for the end of the workday, I tend to get more productive as the hours go by and have a hard time turning my computer off at 5:30; I start scheming of the projects I can accomplish while burning the midnight oil.

I do want to gain an appreciation for the day, and fortunately, I recently stumbled upon a great blog post titled “Seize the Day—How I Became an Early Riser, and You Can Too!”. The title seemed like it was meant for me, so I checked it out, embraced some of their suggestions, and made them my own. I’m happy to report that this method is working, and this week, I have been able to get up about half an hour earlier than usual, and I have not dreaded it. The tricks that have worked for me?

· Looking forward to a nice vegan breakfast. For years, I have wanted to try getting up to an interesting breakfast, and I am trying to incorporate international styles. Like, for example, a traditional Japanese-style breakfast of miso soup, nori, and rice. Or treating myself to an awesome soy latté.

· Increased appreciation for the non-nocturnal animals. I have now realized that when you get up early, you can spend a few groggy, eye-opening, waiting-for-the-tea-kettle moments gazing at the feisty squirrels and birds foraging on your lawn. Their business makes me super-motivated to start the day. Since I work for PETA, my day involves helping animals, so it’s a completely symbiotic relationship.

· Getting to the office early means an awesome parking space.

If you also are working on being more of an ‘early bird’, please share your tips!