It’s worth it? I heard that question this morning. If it was from my wife Lisa. She knows me too well. Let me back up a bit. She was in the bathroom shaving this morning when my wife came in. Her greeting was not: “Good morning honey, how did you sleep?” It was, “So… you stayed up until 2:00 in the morning. You know what that does to you. Is it worth it?” I didn’t give him an answer. I didn’t have a good one to give.

I have a character flaw. It is not knowing when to abandon a project and go to bed. I was working on some articles last night and before I knew it, it was almost 2:00 am Lisa had gone to bed a long time ago and was fast asleep. When I got into bed, she didn’t wake up or turn around or move a muscle. I thought she was safe and she would never know how late I went to bed. How she knew what time I went to bed is a mystery to me. It’s one of those women’s mysteries that men can’t figure out.

So she had me. She asked me if it was worth it because she knows from past experience the price I usually pay for staying up late.

It’s worth it?

Before I can determine if it’s worth it, I need to figure out why I’m staying up late, what the benefits are, and what price I end up paying for those benefits. Then I can determine if the benefits are worth the price I pay.

Why do I stay up late?

For different people there are different reasons why they stay up late. If you are having this problem, then you know what its reasons are. Maybe you stay up late watching TV. Or maybe you love to read. Maybe it’s endless video games or browsing the internet or chatting with girls online. You know what your reasons are.

For me, it’s usually a project I want to do. Because my days are so busy I feel like the only time I have is late at night. I see that I have an hour before my normal bedtime and think, “Great, I have a whole hour. I can write an article in that amount of time. So I’ll start working on my project. Invariably, whatever I’m on working takes much longer than I expected. I greatly underestimate how long it will take.

The next thing that happens is that I look at the clock and think, “Well, I’ll only work until eleven.” Before I know it, it’s midnight and I still haven’t finished my project. But for now my ideas are flowing. I’m progressing. Got my urge going. So I think, “I can’t quit now! I can’t stop my flow of ideas and thoughts just as they’re running!”

It is very difficult for me to stop a project right in the middle. I feel compelled to do it. I hate loose ends. So I keep going.

At this point I’m thinking, “Geez, it’s too late. I already screwed up. I better move on.” So I keep working until the project is finished.

And so, friend, I ended up working until two in the morning!

What are the benefits of staying up late?

So I have to ask myself: What benefits do I get from staying up late?

1. Of course, the main benefit is actually doing something.
2. Probably the next biggest benefit in my mind is TIME. Time for me seems to be short, so whenever I can find a block of time I take it.
3. The next benefit would be that time is uninterrupted time. Not many people bother you at that time of night. No one schedules meetings. Nobody calls you. You are free from distractions. So having an uninterrupted block of time is a huge benefit.
4. Another benefit is going to bed with a sense of accomplishment, of having finished a project.

What is the price I pay for staying up late?

Now let’s take a moment and examine what I’m paying for those benefits. What are the real costs for me? As I thought about what it would cost me, I realized that there is a huge ripple effect that comes into play. One thing seems to lead to another. Let me explain.

• The first domino that falls is that I feel extremely tired in the morning and it lasts all day.
• The next domino is that I feel bad. In addition to being exhausted and tired, I often get headaches from lack of sleep. Many times that headache turns into a full-blown migraine and then my day is lost for sure.
• The next domino to fall is my inability to get up on time. Because I feel so tired that I can’t get up at the usual time.
• The next price I pay is getting that “look” from my wife when she says, “So, you stayed up until 2:00 in the morning.” I could see the look of disappointment on her face because she knows what it costs me when I stay up late. So the real cost is the erosion of my relationship with my wife.
• The next cost is being late. Because I didn’t get up on time, I messed up my schedule for the whole day.
• Because I’m late, the next price I pay is not being able to exercise in the morning.
• Next is the cost of not being able to do my daily personal study session. Every morning I try to study and reflect on good books. I can’t do that when I don’t have time.
• Another big cost is not having time to plan my day.
• Because my day is unplanned, I miss important tasks that I should have done.
• The next big price I pay is more stress in my life. Because I’m late, I’m in a big hurry and my stress level goes up.
• Because I’m stressed so I’m in a bad mood.
• What puts me in the worst mood is not having time to eat breakfast, one of the most important meals of the day. So in addition to feeling bad, tired and with a headache, I am also hungry.
• So I’m late for work. Here I walk to work 45 minutes or an hour late. How do they see that to my boss, my subordinates and the employees I manage in my department? Not good. great price
• When I finally get to work, my productivity and ability to think clearly suffer because I am so exhausted.
• The overall effect continues throughout the day. Since I was late for work in the morning, that means I have to stay late to be fair to my employer.
• Because I had to work late and then I come home late. The price I pay is to receive, for the second time that day, that “look” from my wife when I walk in the door. She doesn’t have to say anything, I can see the disappointment in her eyes.
• Because I come home late I miss having dinner with my family.
• If I have meetings or commitments in the evening, then I either have to devour my dinner or miss dinner entirely because I don’t have time.
• The tendency to fail in other areas of my life. When I am tired, hungry, angry, discouraged, stressed and depressed, I am more susceptible to failure in other areas in which I have committed myself. Failure loves company.
• Finally, the last domino to fall is the cost of having a general feeling of frustration and disappointment with myself. My self-esteem takes a huge hit.

As you can see, the dominoes keep falling, one after another. It’s amazing how one small decision the night before affects everything the next day.

It’s worth it?

After weighing the benefits against the costs, it is clear that it is a very high price that you pay for those 2 or 3 hours that to think you’re winning by staying up late.

What is the solution?

Well duh! The solution is to stop staying up late, right? Easier said than done. Here are some ideas to help you master this part of your life.

First: You have to make a serious commitment to yourself not to stay up late again for any reason.

Second: You have to have a deadline to go to bed. This means that you have to decide what time you will be in bed with your head on the pillow and the lights off.

Third: You have to determine how long it takes you to get ready for bed so you know what time you should start going to bed. It takes time to brush your teeth, put on your pajamas, and whatever else you do before bed. If your goal is to go to bed at 11:00 pm and it takes you half an hour to get ready for bed, then you should start at 10:30 pm

Four: You need to think ahead and make sure you don’t start anything you can’t finish or finish by 10:30 pm You can’t go to the movies at 9:30 at night because you know a movie is about two hours long. And it takes time to get there and time to get home and you’ll never make it.

Okay, I’ve made a very convincing argument against staying up late. I have shown that the costs far outweigh any benefits to be gained. I have also presented a simple plan to change this habit. And I’ve done it all for your benefit. Now my challenge to you is to follow it.

Master yourself, master your life

Thanks.