Is Being a Night Owl Beneficial for a Virtual Assistant?

by Jomvie
(Full-Time Virtual Assistant from the Philippines)

Recently, I had this episode of headaches that is mainly caused from light-sensitivity and that lead to an Eye Strain and along with its associated symptoms that lasts for days. And the worst thing that had happened is that I had to stop in the middle of a shift since I can no longer take the pain and plus the nauseous feeling that becomes more annoying.

In view of the fact that it disturbs me from working, I decided to take shifts:

• 4 to 5 hours in the morning

• 3 to 4 hours in the evening

The reason why I divided my 8-hour shift is to get my eyes some rest away from the computer. And during those hours I took some time off, the sun glare coming into my room is too bright that it bounces back to my computer monitor that worsens my headache. And not only that, starting from hours 2:00pm until 4:00 pm (Philippine time) the room is too humid that makes it uncomfortable to function—in short, not conducive.

Morning Shift

So, I started timing the right hours to when to take some rest, stop and then back again to work. My morning shift starts at 9:00 am or 10:00 am and then onwards until the time I lose focus and feel irritated from the temperature inside the room, I take a rest and gain some strength and then back again until I am able to accumulate 4 hours for my morning shift and rest to regain for my second shift.

During my morning shift, I must say it is comfortable since my brain functions well at these times (although there are times I feel like to procrastinate :).

From my previous working hours, I noticed that after lunch at 1:00pm until 3:00pm, I feel unproductive and my brain often freezes and can’t stay focus on anything. So, this is one of the main reasons with my experiment apart from my recent eyestrain episode.

Night Shift

After hours of rest, I feel renewed and refreshed and it feels just like another 9:00am evening version. I noticed whenever I start working after dinner, my brain is calm and the surrounding is quiet and the temperature is cool.

But, the only thing is, when I work until at the wee hours of the night, I will not get enough rest for the next morning, I can’t randomly go out or whenever I feel like it. Working at night is likely a dilemma since pros outweigh the cons or sometimes the other way around.

Remarkable Decision

So, when I am asked which timing I would prefer, I would still like working in the morning. Of course, after your morning shift you can do anything and do the things that you want.

There are just some stuff you can’t avoid, especially prolonged sitting can cause back ache so I have to rest for a while and stop my time on Hubstaff or inevitable events that will pop out in the middle of my shift.

These are also factors that will prolong my working hours. That’s when I decided to make shifts and since I am just comfortably working at home, it also gives an ease that I can catch up with my work.

Regardless of the series of events may it be good or bad, working in the morning is still my most preferred working hours and I am glad even if my employer is in a different time zone, he would allow me to work on my most comfortable time.

If you’re a virtual assistant, which one do you prefer; an early bird or a night owl? Do let me know why you prefer being one. And same goes to all the employers out there, what is your time preference fro your virtual assistant?

Do jump in on the comment box and let me know what are your thoughts! 😀

Comments for Is Being a Night Owl Beneficial for a Virtual Assistant?

Comments

comments