Are You a Night Owl or Early Riser?

It’s Saturday morning, sometime in the '90s. I’m a kid on the carpet in front of the TV, cereal bowl in hand, cartoons playing before the rest of the house even wakes up.

Was I a morning person? Not exactly. But I loved that feeling — the quiet, the routine, the comfort of doing the same thing every week. For some people, that’s what mornings are still like. For others, that feeling happens at 1AM, headphones on, chasing some spark of creativity.

This post isn’t here to tell you that early birds win and night owls lose. It’s here to explore why people feel most alive at different times of the day — and how that connects to meaning, productivity, and what I call "replay value".

Are You a Night Owl or an Early Riser?

We tend to categorize people by the hours they keep — either up before dawn or alive after midnight. But maybe the real difference isn’t when you’re productive — it’s what you do consistently that gives you energy and meaning.

This post isn’t about which type is better. It’s about understanding your rhythm and finding your win — however you define it.

But B-people aren’t lazy — or less driven.

A study from the University of Madrid found that night owls often score higher on inductive reasoning, a marker of creative and analytical thinking. They might not always thrive in traditional academic settings, but they often think in more abstract or unconventional ways.

Take Stephen King, for example. Before he was a bestselling author, he taught high school English and carved out time to write at laundromats, in break rooms — anywhere he could, often late into the night.

Historically, staying up after dark was seen as a bad habit. But that narrative started shifting in 17th and 18th century Europe, and now we understand it better. Circadian rhythms aren’t just about habit — they’re shaped by light exposure, seasonal changes, daily environment, and even genetics. Some people are just wired to wind up as the sun goes down.

What Actually Sets Them Apart?

The difference isn’t just schedule — it’s often the environment and how your brain is wired.

Procrastination is sometimes blamed on night owls, but that's too simplistic.

Or maybe it’s more psychological. Through the lens of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), The coding how we think (neuro), how we communicate (linguistic) and how we get results (programming.) It's not about when you work — it’s about how you think, communicate, and chase results. That framework applies whether your best hour is 7 AM or 11 PM.

So What's a "Win"?

Morning people often feel successful by 11AM. Night owls might not feel their win until 2AM.
But both feel that same satisfaction — the sense of I did something today that matters.

Whether that’s:

• Finishing a workout
   
• Reading a few pages of a book
   
• Creating art or content
   
• Having a meaningful conversation
   
• Making progress on a side hustle

The goal is progress — not perfection.

The Replay Value Theory

They do things that feel good enough to do again tomorrow. The routine works for them. The joy isn’t just in the productivity, but in the rhythm itself.

Watching the same cartoon every Saturday morning.
Or writing under soft lights while the world sleeps.

That’s the secret. That’s the win.