Oddly enough, I woke up at 5am when I was younger and it was fairly easy back then. I'm in my forties now and enjoy staying up late, but there were things I wanted to do that I could, if I flipped the script and woke up early, so I recently did the 5am for 45 days. It was great, but eventually I missed the things I gave up and reverted back to being a night owl. I guess I will never stop having this inner battle as each routine comes with different gains and losses. I will likely end up flipping the script periodically based on what I miss and what I want to happen considering both are in agreement rarely. Sigh!

All excellent points. Achieving this fine balance requires constant effort. I have found that the more you do it the easier it gets, but it has gotten harder in the recent years where majority of my coworkers including myself telework. Teleworking significantly increased time I spent in meetings without it being more productive. I have not found a true online alternative to getting in a huddle room and working a problem on a whiteboard, speaking while walking to grab a coffee or discussing over lunch. All of those things are now additional meetings over a screen.

What you bring up applies to not just coding but any line of work. I switched from medicine to IT and have been a coder now for more than a decade and thoroughly enjoy it. I focus on the process and derive joy from it as it unfolds. …

One of the things I miss from the pre-pandemic times is the commute to work to my current job; it involved a short walk to the bus stop, riding a bus to Pentagon metro followed by a ride on the train to Gallery Place/Chinatown in Washington D.C., a walk to…