As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been partial to a later schedule. I often stay up late working and sleep in until 8 or 9 depending on how late I was up the previous night. I probably only set my alarm clock once or twice a month. Luckily my work offers me that flexibility. However it can become a problem when I need to get up early for something.

For example, on Friday morning I had to get up early to catch a flight to Phoenix with a round of golf scheduled for Friday afternoon. Because I’m not used to going to bed early or getting up early, my body basically rebelled all day and I was cranky and impatient by the afternoon. Not a good combination on the golf course (especially when you haven’t golfed in a few months). 😉

Also, I feel obligated to get through the e-mails that have come in overnight before I do anything else in the morning. Sometimes this can run for several hours, especially if one of them tells me about a fire that needs fighting. Then I begin to run into scheduled meetings and phone calls and I’ve never really had a chance to eat breakfast, etc. to really start my day.

The point I’m getting at is that I’m wondering how it would be if I shifted my entire schedule a few hours. Maybe if I get up at 6am I would be more willing to let the e-mails sit until my work day starts at 9am. Maybe I’d find a half hour to make a decent breakfast (I cook a mean egg scramble) or go hit a few golf balls before diving in to work. As it is now, I rarely find time to walk over to the putting green for practice because if I wait until the afternoon I never feel I have time. There is always more work to be done when you’re working for yourself.

Has anyone out there tried this? I’m curious to hear your results.