I agree, I rather wake up earlier to work on side projects/study than working late at night. This way it's the job that feels like an extra and not the other way around.
After 40 years of wanting to sleep in as long as I can, I flipped and wake up early and go to bed early. It’s amazing.
My free time is now when I can think and play with hobbies. Those can be code, music, sewing, fishing, etc etc.
After work, I’m usually zonked. “Too tired for having fun” (Devo cover playing in my head).
I now just focus on kids after school, dinner, zone out, and sleep by 10pm. I listen to history podcasts and don’t watch much TV, except college football and Star Wars series.
But I don’t pressure myself to “finish” hobbies anymore. Work is work, hobbies are for pleasure. If hobbies are generating anxiety, I pivot. That took me a while to come to terms with, given my ADHD.
I have no dreams of making a passion project my job. I enjoy my work and “finish” there, but like having a separate life.
My dad owned a business, and I don’t want to live that “never off” lifestyle. I’m a very boring family man and love that.
I loved staying up late and playing games, reading, coding, watching films, whatever.
When I had kids, I had to start waking up earlier. So I decided to go all in and switch to early-down/early-up, and it changed a lot of things in my life.
The biggest change was not working on or doing things I love while super tired and pushing through it anyway just because I love it.
