This morning I woke up at 6 A.M. I don’t say this to impress you. Actually, my mother was probably clocked in 45 minutes away at her job at that time, some already knee deep in their work. The feat here is not that I woke up at 6 A.M., no. The feat is why I woke up at 6 A.M.
Before I progress, I will need to shed details on my current situation. Last year, which was about a week ago *commences schmoney dance*, I completed my first semester of graduate school. My schedule during that period was highly structured, each day methodological, leaving little room for improvisation, at least if I wanted to be in good standing with the program. The point is that I had a cyclical schedule. Nothing wrong with this. Actually, it was highly beneficial for me due to my scatter-brained nature. It forced me to be organized and work on a set schedule, quite opposite from my usual routine. See, I have what is considered the gift/curse of a creative mind; I relish the calm of the night. Energized by the deadening of my surrounding, my brain springs to life, neurons communicating at unprecedented velocities; I am a night owl.
While I appreciated functioning on a different schedule and flow (variability is key), it was rather challenging for me. I had to wake up early each day which meant I had to sleep "early" the night before if I was to be marginally functional. This was not the case 95% of the time. While my colleagues complained about going to bed late, usually at times before 12 A.M., I hid my face, avoiding the questioning eyes that observed my compulsive yawning and lethargic state; falling asleep before 12 A.M. would have been a miracle for me! And like my fellow night owls, when asked about my nocturnal activities my reply was simply, "doing stuff." Maybe I should not clump all night owls together as responding this way, but I am going to say a sizable amount respond similarly, especially if their nocturnal inclinations are coupled with a hint of introversion. And sometimes this answer is for the best because "stuff" usually encompasses several activities, sometimes not even related, and can take a while to TRY explaining (which usually fails.)
But, I have been on winter break for two weeks and still have a week to go (is the schmoney dance applicable here?). So, as you can imagine, I'm back to my night owl ways. That is the law of entropy right? A night owl left to itself will stay awake? No? Okay, forget I mentioned that. Anyways, I have been mildly productive over the break, working on different "stuff", all accomplished at night as you will expect. So, this brings me to today.
I woke up at 6 A.M. As I've mentioned, this is no great feat. I wake up earlier than that during the school session, and sometimes on weekends impulsively. The great feat today was that I woke up "inspired." For the creative mind, inspired isn't necessarily the willingness to do something, although it is a component, it is having the mental capacity and creative energy to do what it is we creatives do. Three days ago I had a rare afternoon where I was completely available. My room was clean and laundry was finished. There was nothing on my to-do list. By to-do list, I am speaking of chores and errands, basics that everyone does to maintain a habitable and functioning environment, hopefully. But, like most creatives, my to-do list for "stuff" was still full and piling up daily. Kanye West once said "does he write his own rhymes, well sort of, I think 'em. That mean I forgot better sh*t than you ever thought of." *Stops nodding to Yeezy* This statement at its essence is a representation of the plight most creatives face especially at night when our activity peaks. Our brain is constantly producing material and ideas faster than we can record or produce them, leaving a bulk of these thoughts lost memories in our head. But the few that are remembered occupy our work time.
Back to three days ago. So, my afternoon was free, which meant I had time to work on "stuff." I sat down for hours staring at my computer and got nothing done! I jumped from project to project looking for something to at least add content to but only ended up adding several mediocre sentences to a book I am writing, which will probably get deleted in the future. I was not inspired. I had the willingness to create, but my mind was not cooperating; my neurons were still slumbering and were adamant on staying that way, no matter how willing I was.
Coming back to today once again, I sit here writing this post because I woke up at 6 A.M., inspired. It is not uncommon for me to dream ideas, as a matter of fact, it seems quite logical that I do. Left alone, I will be going to bed around 6 A.M. What is uncommon is for me to wake up from these dreams and be inspired to actually work on something. Now, the product of my inspiration was not this post, which is a nice addition seeing I haven't posted in a while and it is the New Year, but other “stuff” which I will be working on throughout the day. I'm not entirely sure what about the dream prompted me to wake up, the idea was quite basic actually, but after laying in bed trying to sleep for ten minutes without success, I figured I might as well make use of this inspiration.
So, what is the point of this post? Perspective on the mind/personality and life of a night owl? Leisure read for you guys? Filler content? Update on what I’m doing with my life? Truth be told, I have no answer. While I am purposeful in having a lesson or objective in my posts, this one is rather random. What I do know is that inspiration woke me up this morning and I answered. So, here I am.
