When is your best writing time?
You probably have a pretty good idea of how you’d answer that question, but new research suggests you may be wrong.
Particularly if you’re looking for a creative solution to a plot problem or a new idea for a story—some sort of creative insight—you may be better off tackling the issue at a time of day when you normally would not be at your best.
It all has to do with your circadian rhythms, and how they affect your brain.
When Finding Your Best Writing Time, Consider Your Circadian Rhythms
Your circadian rhythm is your body’s internal clock. It tells you when you wake up and when to sleep.
Also called the “sleep-wake cycle” or your “biological clock,” it repeats roughly every 24 hours and is run by a main conductor that exists in the hypothalamus of the brain. It’s also affected by exposure to the sun and other light sources.
Your circadian rhythm is the master clock making sure all physiological functions occur when they should, and it’s personal to you. Whereas one person’s natural waking time may occur around six in the morning, another’s may not wind up completely until 10 a.m.
This is also why some people are natural morning people and others natural night owls—it’s programmed into our genes. Scientists now say that honoring your own internal clock could mean the difference between health and disease.
According to one 2009 study, for instance, chronic disruption of your circadian rhythm—such as that which occurs when you fail to go to sleep on time, when you travel to another time zone, when you’re exposed to too much light at night, or when you do shift work (regularly changing up your work times so that your sleep times change)—your risk of the following health problems increases:
- Weight gain
- Slower thinking
- Impulsivity
Other studies have indicated that circadian rhythm disruptions can lead to additional problems, such as:
- Insomnia
- Depression and other mood disorders
- Diabetes
- Low productivity
- Heart disease
- Reduced immunity
- Cognitive decline
Pretty much every biological function—including those that affect your body and brain—runs on a clock, and you experience optimal health and productivity when your system operates like a Swiss watch. Throw off the schedule and you can expect unpleasant consequences.
How Circadian Rhythms Affect Creativity
Whereas a lot of the studies on circadian rhythms has focused on sleep and physical health, there’s a significant amount of research about how they affect your brain, too—specifically your thinking and creativity.
I’ve always found that for my creative writing, I get the best results working first thing in the morning when I’m still a little groggy. I’m a night owl naturally, so I take a while to wake up in the morning. My first 30 minutes are half in and half out of consciousness, and I prefer to be undisturbed during that time.
Because I’m less than truly focused, you’d think mornings would be the worst time to write. It’s not my peak time. I tend to become more focused and productive a few hours after I’ve gotten up.
But I’ve found if I wait until then to write fiction, I struggle. My words flow much easier if I get up and immediately open a file and write.
Your Best Writing Time May Be When You’re a Little Tired
Research supports my personal experience. A study by Wieth and colleagues suggests that innovation and creativity are greatest when we’re not at our best, at least in terms of our circadian rhythms.
Whereas other studies show that we perform best on challenging, attention-demanding tasks (like writing) at our peak energy times, this study showed the opposite when it comes to activities requiring a creative solution.
In the study, scientists asked participants to solve two types of problems:
Analytic problems
Those that require a systematic working through of the problem.
An example: Bob’s father is 3 times as old as Bob. They were both born in October. Four years ago, he was 4 times older. How old are Bob and his father? One simply works out the problem mathematically.
Insight problems
Those that require the participant to seek alternatives or to think outside of the box—to find an “aha” solution rather than go through a systematic calculation.
An example: A dealer in antique coins got an offer to buy a beautiful bronze coin. The coin had an emperor’s head on one side and the date 544 BC stamped on the other. The dealer examined the coin, but instead of buying it, he called the police. Why? (Answer: coins were never dated BC because no one knew when or if Christ was coming.)
The scientists presented the problems to the participants at both their peak and off-peak times of the day. They expected to find that the participants would perform better on both types of tasks at their peak times, but they were wrong.
When it came to analytic problems, there was no obvious effect on problem-solving ability depending on the time of day. For insight problems, however, participants showed consistently greater performance during non-optimal or non-peak times of day compared to optimal times of the day.
Why would this be? The researchers theorized that during off-peak times we are less focused, which opens the brain to more alternatives and other interpretations. We’re more likely to make connections between seemingly unconnected ideas, which can encourage creative insight and solutions.
From these and other studies, we can see that if we’re tackling a task that requires strong focus and concentration, it’s best to do it at our peak times. If we need to tap into our more creative brains, on the other hand, it may be better to plan the project at non-peak times.
Night owls, therefore, might find they’re most creative first thing in the morning. Morning people, on the other hand, may find that they do their best creative writing at night.
How to Use Your Circadian Rhythms to Choose Your Best Writing Time
Most likely, you already know whether you are a morning lark or a night owl.
Based on that information, you can determine when you might be most creative, and schedule those projects that require creative insight during your off-peak times. Your new novel or short story, your blog topic brainstorms, and your freewriting might all fall into this category.
Other projects that require your full focus and concentration, however, should be scheduled during your peak energy times, if at all possible. Editing, writing non-fiction or research-based articles, implementing new marketing tactics, and other similar projects are best completed when you’re less vulnerable to distraction.
Of course, this is all assuming you’re taking care of your natural circadian rhythms. To do that, follow these tips:
- Stick to a consistent sleep schedule, even on weekends.
- Get some sun first thing in the morning, even if it just means standing near a window.
- Bright lights throw off your natural body clock. Turn all screens off at least an hour before bed, including smartphones, tablets, and computers. Turn the regular lights down as well an hour before bed.
- Eat at set times, and eat your heavier meals earlier in the day if possible. Avoid eating heavy meals within 3 hours of bedtime.
Do you line up your writing times with your circadian rhythms?
Sources
May, C. (2012, March 6). The Inspiration Paradox: Your Best Creative Time Is Not When You Think. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/your-best-creative-time-not-when-you-think/
ScienceDaily. (2019, October 15). Disruption Of Circadian Rhythms Affects Both Brain And Body, Mouse Study Finds. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026225744.htm
Wieth, M. B., & Zacks, R. T. (2011). Time of day effects on problem solving: When the non-optimal is optimal. Thinking & Reasoning, 17(4), 387-401. doi:10.1080/13546783.2011.625663