My brain isn't usually fully engaged into "work mode" until almost 10am every day. I think this has to do with "delayed circadian rhythm".
It's hard for me to get up before 7am or to get to bed before 11pm.
My peak productivity times are 10-11:30am and 4-6pm.
• My body tells me it's time for lunch at 11:30. Once the food cravings start, I can't focus on anything.
• After lunch, my brain is very passive... I can't do anything that requires much deep thinking.
• At 2-4pm, I hit an energy slump. (Maybe it's the 3% Spanish blood in me, but I feel like I've got to take a nap then. Oddly, it's exactly 12 hours offset from when I wake up almost every night.)
• At around 4pm, my brain shifts into high gear. At 6pm, it loses steam again.
I'd much rather have a 9-6 schedule than the 8-5 that I have. It's so hard to find an employer who is offering the hours that I want to work. (I'm in the Eastern time zone of the US. Maybe I just need to work remotely for a company in the Central time zone.)
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What about the rest of you? What seems to be your peak productivity hours? What seems to be your natural schedule?
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I hope all is well in your world. You are so well informed as to how you tick, that's amazing! That type of rhythm is not uncommon, every human goes through that type of up and down throughout the day.
Dr. Huberman - hubermanlab.com - has an episode on productivity and the rhythm it takes.
Unfortunately we are in a society that is set up to go, go, go for 8 - 10 hours straight which is a poor set up. Productivity went up when people were working from home. Why? They could work when they had the focus and energy and wonder when they needed to. Was it the best fit for everyone, no, but a whole lot of folks really did well.
Do you have any flexibility with your current job? It may not hurt to broach the subject with your manager and see if there are any options that could make it a better fit. If you can be more productive with a different schedule it seems that would benefit the company as much as you.
If there is no flex in the current situation then doing your best to adjust your circadian rhythm is probably a good place to put in the effort. Getting sunlight in your eyes before 10:00 a.m. and again near sun down help inform your body of where you are in the day and how to cycle. Also having a bedtime routine (sleep hygiene) helps when you are adjusting your sleep times. There is a ton of information on how to sleep well, adjust your schedule etc. Again Hubermanlab.com has episodes on it. I went through a LOT of sleep issues and then a LOT of study so if you want more details I'm happy to share what I know.
And reminding yourself that although co-workers may look like they go, go, go all day they don't. They too ebb and flow with their energy and focus.
One thing I recommend to clients is to start by not fighting with the rhythm. Don't spend any time arguing or chastising yourself because you "should" be productive right now! That is a waste of energy and makes you feel like crap. Tell yourself that it is ok that you don't want to and that it is ok that you are feeling low energy. Just allowing the feelings we feel, even the ones we think are "wrong," can diminish their impact. You are not broken, everyone has a rhythm. You are hugely informed as to your internal workings and you have a crazy creative brain. I have all the faith that you will find some supports that maximize the situation for youself.
Hang in there!
BLC89
Full disclosure I am an Adult & Parent ADHD coach and have been married to ADHD for nearly 30 years. I have raised two kids with ADHD (20 & 22) and am CCSP certified. Find out more at bluelakecoaching.com
The schedule "flexibility" goes the wrong way for my needs. I could start earlier, but not later. (I work at a manufacturing company, where production crews work 6:30-3:30, most of the office staff work a 7-4 shift, and most of the administrators work 8-5, give it take... it's their schedule that I'm supposed to match).
Several times a month I have to work until 6pm or so, doing network or server maintenance. I can't do those things during the regular business day, because it can interrupt business operations if I have to take services offline.
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I felt better when I had an IT colleague here who started at 7am. He was a data guy, but could do at least basic troubleshooting before I got in. (He was let go due to budget cuts, leaving just me to do all the IT work at this facility. I have other colleagues at the main company who can do basic remote support, and they are able to stagger their schedules.)
I am a total night owl. Getting up at 10 or 11 and going to bed at 2 or 3 am. It has gotten a little better since going on medication - I am actually tired and feel like going to bed at night. I work for myself too but often think about working for West Coast or mid west clients to be on a different time zone!!
Vyvanse, so far, wakes me up pretty early by my standards, 8:30 or 9! Not sure if it is anxiety or Vyvanse!
mine are pretty similar to yours, except my afternoon peak periods are : 2-6. I do ok until about 7 pm, but that’s it- I'm toast! My mornings are identical to yours. I really enjoyed my work w/Cali (I’m also on the East Coast) since i worked 10-7pm.
my body wakes me up around 5 am and my anxiety keeps me up. Sometimes it’s earlier and sometimes it’s later. I used to be able to sleep in until 9… my stomach doesn’t wake up until about 10, so taking my stimulant meds is a big chore for me. If I don’t feel down (I’ve felt like this with some parts of my job constantly due to discrimination). I usually get a burst of “need to do something” mid afternoon, making it easy to want to cook dinner. I’m burned out betweenn7-8. I usually just lay in bed somewhere between 8-9, and pass out between 9 and 11 (usually 9 and 10). I need 3 anxiety meds, adhd med and even a hard core sleep aid just to function.
I understand the AM delay for your body only being able to functionally move at 10 am (mornings are the hardest for fibromyalgia people) and even then 10 am can be hard enough to move.
Sounds like you have a good rhyme for a good hour & half..and then of course, hunger kicks in ..which I get and then the post lunch 'slump'. I am sure as you know the body is still digesting your food for at least a good two hours so I can understand the 'energy' focus slump being off b/c your body is focused on digestion and you probably want to take a nap. (Sounds like you belong in Europe. 😉 siesta time).
And then back on the grind.
If you are self-employed why not check out contract jobs.. you never know what you may find.
I say give it a whirl!
As for me, right now I am on medical leave for burnout...but I like later morning to evening... The thing is when you work for the public healthcare system.. there are shift hours and the shift hour that is better for my body is the evening shift (3 pm-11 pm). If I had a dream job hours it would be from 11 am - 5/6 pm. Maybe my next life.. 😆
Fibromyalgia runs in my family. Specifically, my mom and grandma have it, and I tend to take after my mom a lot more than I take after my dad (except for ADHD...my dad definitely has more ADHD traits than my mom does). I know that it is much more common in women than in men, but I do have many of the symptoms. So, I should keep an open mind about it.
I'm not self-employed. There's a part of me that really wants to be, but my self-doubt is a major hurdle to going that route. (I do keep making plans to develop a sideline income blogging and writing, and maybe eventually consulting and coaching. Of course I dream of doing that full-time someday. I need to just sit down and start doing it...I already bought myself a website domain name as a birthday present to myself, so I just need start publishing. I've been writing for years, but have trouble finishing writing projects.)
I've worked different shifts throughout my career. I've mostly worked an 8-5 schedule, which is great for raising a family, but like I've noted it doesn't match up with my body's schedule. Long ago, I worked a lot of retail, and I did work well between the hours of 9:30am and 9:30pm. I just didn't want to continue working shifting schedules, weekends and holidays all my life. (I've had a couple of night jobs...not for me. I did them out of necessity, but I was always tired and not at my best for my family.)
If I can ever get past my self-doubt and can become self-employed, I think it would be the best solution overall, because then I can make my own schedule around the times I work best.
I hadn't considered before whether there could be a connection between fibromyalgia and ADHD. It turns out that there is!
According to a study published in 2017, 100 people with a fibromyalgia diagnosis were given an ADHD test, and 45 of them were indeed found to have ADHD. 45% is a very high comorbidity!
That was just one study, but in my initial search for a connection, Google's AI results for my search said that about 25% of people with fibromyalgia also have an ADHD diagnosis. (I have to take AI search results with a grain of salt, because of "AI hallucination" being an occasional issue still.)
I'll have to give my mom a call this weekend. She has always thought that her memory and attention issues were due to depression &/or fibromyalgia.
I do best in the mornings, starting pretty early 5:30/6:30am, and wane starting in the afternoon, hopefully I get a second wind at some point, depending on my general alert and stress levels. I do best with an early bedtime but often struggle to implement that, both because of my own issues with disconnecting and because of how late social life in my city tends to be - I need more teacher friends who are free earlier in the day Maybe a different city would work better for you? Everything seems to run an hour or two late in NYC. The office lunch rush is just starting at 1pm, and weekend “brunch” often doesn’t even start until 11 or 12, and 2pm for brunch is not unusual!
I avoid big cities like the plague. I grew up nearby Los Angeles, and dreaded having to go into the city for almost any reason.
I'm much more comfortable in small cities and suburban areas. Smaller towns are okay, as long as I'm not too far from my shopping needs.
Being an introverted homebody by nature, I tend to avoid social scenes. I feel loneliest in a crowd. (I can socialize pretty well now. I think my social anxiety issues are way less than they were in my youth...but it has taken 30 years of effort to get as comfortable as I am.)
• Still, I need to get out and start making friends. (I make friends slowly over time. I've been in a new area for 2 years, and I've only made 1 new friend...and that friendship has already already devolved into just chatting occasionally on Facebook.)
*Wake up at 5am because of that good old depression.
*I often need to take a nap around 11am, but sometimes I don't need to. It's a hit or miss.
*I mindlessly eat, so I don't often have the cravings. My brain is constantly rebooting (imagine the dinosaur game when you don't have wifi), so I don't have a set time for the crash.
*I do also hit the slump around 2-3pm, and taking a nap helps.
*I get hyperactive around 5, when my mom comes home (I love my mom so much and I tell her everything), but I don't wind down until 8:30 or so.
From what I've seen, you work on computers (I don't know the official job title, lol). My father does some of the same work, and he's been remote since around 2016. Granted, we did move a few times, and his job was in a different state. I think if you explain to your boss what you are struggling with (HR possibly?) they may be able to work with you. My father's company has been very forgiving (he takes me to therapy every week, clubs, and just general stuff) If you're interested, DM me and I can give you more details if you'd like.
I'm an IT Support Technician (not my exact title, but most descriptive). I've had various titles while doing basically the same job over the last 12 years.
My workplace has been tolerant of my frequent tardiness and my time management struggles, but since I'm the only technician for the work site that I report to, I can't work remotely. Almost every day that I've tried to, I've had to make the trip to the work site. I was getting burnt out for several months, feeling like I was constantly patching issues, and they were not staying fixed.
My commute is 40 minutes each way. The road is curvy, and there is a lot of wildlife along the way. I see a new roadkill animal every other day. I had one spinout crash and hit a deer one time, so the route gives me anxiety. So, I want the avoid the hassle and work from home.
I also live paycheck to paycheck, so I need to increase my income.
I currently work at a manufacturing company, but previously worked at a university and then at a hospital. I felt much more fulfilled and purposeful working at those institutions. So, I'm concentrating my current job hunt on those types of organizations, and other nonprofits
So, I've got a lot of reasons for wanting to change jobs. I'm hoping that I can get a remote IT job, like your dad has.
My dad has around the same title (but I wouldn't know).
The issue with being remote and close to home is that you will often need to come in. Have you talked to your work about hiring another technician, or at least an assistant? (if possible)
The commute sounds bad. I don't have any tips for that; I don't drive.
As an IT support, you'll probably be in high demand. I'm sure that you will find a good place that pays well. But make sure that you say in the interview or on the application that you need to work remotely because of ADHD. Most employers will at least try to accommodate it.
I'm looking for something that's fully remote. • The only IT employers in my area don't pay the best, because it's a rural area (so pay rates are lower than the national average).
• I also realize that the most distracting factor in my current and previous IT positions is changing physical locations. Staying in one work environment as much as possible should help my productivity. -- I do okay with the occasional project or event taking me to another place, but I can't do that all the time like I currently do.
When I was hired, there was some discussion about hiring an entry level IT Technician, who I could have trained to help me. The funding for the position never materialized. Then, the only other IT coworker that I had at my location was let go, due to budget cuts.
• All the budget issues also make me uneasy here.
There are a lot of reasons why this job just feels like a bad fit. Honestly, though, I know it's always easy to find reasons not to like a job. I've only had a few that I loved. But this job was a lifesaver when I got it...I just feel like the benefits are quickly eroding.
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I know that it's just a matter of time before I find the right job. I just have to keep up with applying for better opportunities.
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Maybe a different city would work better for you? Everything seems to run an hour or two late in NYC. The office lunch rush is just starting at 1pm, and weekend “brunch” often doesn’t even start until 11 or 12, and 2pm for brunch is not unusual!
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