Being an establishment built mainly for writers, we thought it would be a good idea to tackle different habits and rituals people have when it comes to writing. Having a quiet space like theOffice to focus on your writing is invaluable, but when would you choose to come in?

We have writers that join us at opening at 8am and take off around noon, and then we have After Hours members that don’t come in until midnight and write till the sun comes up. There are advantages to both sides here and we’re going to analyze them to help you narrow down which writing time is right for you.

Early Morning

The morning makes for an excellent time to write for a number of reasons, the most obvious being that our minds are fresh and raring to go. We have a limited amount of willpower each day, and by choosing to prioritize writing over everything else you’re able to give it your all. You’re at your best when you first wake up, so you’re bound to produce some of your best writing.

Another key component of early writing is the dream factor. The part of our minds linked to creativity is most active during and immediately after sleep, which may explain why your dreams are far more imaginative than anything you’ve managed to get on paper. Capture this state when you wake up and get right to writing. No breakfast, no research, no emails or Facebook. Dive right into your work and see if any of that dream dust creeps onto the page.

Late Night

Tons of writers claim that they do their best work deep into the evening. Completely devoid of distractions, no worry about that laundry list of errands that needs to be accomplished by day’s end. Morning writers may argue that your brain being tuckered out can keep you from creating your best work, but the opposite is actually true.

You often find your greatest ideas in rather unexpected places. It can stem from the most random tangents, tangents that you may not allow yourself to have in your hyper-focused morning writing session. When your brain is at 100% you can be very critical of your work, but when your brain slows down at the end of the day you don’t have the will to shoot down all those potentially great ideas. And though you may be tired from a long day, that long day was likely filled with inspiring events for you to draw from.

What Will You Choose?

There’s no right or wrong answer here, it’s entirely a matter of personal preferences. If you go with the early bird special, make sure to stay focused and get into it as soon as you get up. Save the Internet as a reward once you’ve finished. Make use of your fresh brain to tackle the tough stuff, especially when you’re in a good groove.

If you’re more of a night owl use the beginning of your session to go over last night’s work to make sure your lax brain didn’t make any crucial missteps. Take occasional breaks or even power naps to keep your creativity from completely fizzling out. And switch tasks occasionally into scheduling or outlining before jumping back into full on writer mode.

Whichever timeline you decide suits you best, do what you can to work on a regular schedule. Your brain will learn to prepare itself for the task if it knows it’s coming at the same time, allowing you to jump right in.

Hopefully this helps you find what time your creativity shines!