Night owls of the worlds unite: The most creative time of day is actually at night – 10:04 p.m. to be exact, according to a survey of 1,426 people (h/t: Kevin Stolarick). The least creative time is 4:33 p.m. And yes, taking a shower actually helps, the survey found.
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:25 pm
As a writer, I would completely agree with these times. I do find that I’m also creative in the wee hours of the morning before I’ve spoken to anyone or connected electronically. It can be frustrating though to have inspiration hit at 10pm – you end up working to keep yourself awake the next day. But if I had to weigh the benefits of sleep with the benefit of creating a work I’m immensely proud of – I’ll take the creativity any day.
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:03 am
Interesting. I’ve heard a number of experts say that most people are “most productive” between 9AM and 11 AM (and thus one should ensure the most important tasks of your day are done then).
While I’d agree that for doing some administrative-type tasks, this is probably true, I also have found that I come up with better ideas in the evening than in the morning. Creative-wise, the evening tends to be better, although I note that 10:04 PM is approaching for me right now, and I’m feeling more fatigued than creative.
I also wonder if the 10:04 PM thing is the notion of a “deadline” helping people to focus. As in, “it’s getting late, I’d better put my head down and think about this material.” With a little pressure, sometimes the best ideas emerge.
October 24th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
[...] night person. And apparently, there’s lots of people just like me. And we are at our most creative at…10:04pm. The least creative? Around 4:30, when everybody is hard at [...]