If you could set the world to your time, what would you choose?

[Threelittlegibbons]

The norm is 9-530 (or was, probably isn’t anymore). Taking things like school runs out of the equation (these too can be changed in this scenario), what hours do you work best?

I’m better later in the day and always have been. I also find working late at night easier to get on without interruptions. I’d shift start times forward by a couple of hours and probably do 5-6 hours in the 11-7.30 window and 2-3 hours later on. This also assumes you are literally just doing the hours you are employed to, rare I know.

8-4. I had a temporary job with flexible hours once and I chose to do that. It was great. I literally do do the hours I’m paid to do, bar the odd 10 minutes to finish up.

I’m not a morning person. Luckily I’m self employed, so on an ideal day I wake at about 9am, have a leisurely coffee and browse MN and Facebook until about 10-10.30 then get showered and dressed to start work about 11am. I do about 3-4 hours work, stop for a break and to make dinner, have a rest and then resume work about 7 or 8pm until 10 or 11pm. I stay up until 2 or 3am and then start again.

If I’m going to my DP’s house I don’t have an afternoon break, I work from 11 till about 6 and do a couple more hours when I get home at 11pm.

I work some weekends for 4/6 hours a day so often have a weekday off, so I’m totally out of sync with the rest of the world but it works for me.

Similar to you OP if I could work it around kids' bed and mealtimes etc. I also work better later (though not after 10pm). I currently work around 9.15-6.15 excluding overtime (often an extra hour or so after the kids are in bed) and my best work happens from about 3.30 or 4pm onwards.

I'd change my bed time too so I could be in bed 12-9 (I wouldn't sleep all of that time as I toss and turn, but always feel better if I get up later). That also means school needs to start around 11!

My full time hours are 8-4:30 Monday to Thursday and 8-3:30 on Friday I don’t mind those hours.

One of my kids would definitely prefer an 11am start!! As a kid, I would have done too. I still can’t understand why it’s more acceptable in workplaces to have an 8am meeting than a 5.30 meeting (assuming no dependents). One project I worked on when I was quite junior was with a very senior guy in the firm - he would do big 8am Monday morning meetings and I used to feel really resentful as would have to get up about 430 to be in by 6 for pre meeting prep and a pre meet with that fucker. Bastard.

I’m always saying at work where I start at 10:30am that I’d LOVE to come in earlier. I’d like to work from 7 - 3!

I’m a later sort of being. During the lockdowns when we could arrange school to suit us and I wasn’t at work, I found I woke naturally at 8.30am, kids were much happier with a slow start to the day and then would do their work well, and bedtime shifted to midnight for me.
Getting up before 7am is my biggest complaint now. Hate it so much.
Shifting everything to start at around 10am would be my ideal.

I would like to start work at 10am and finish at 10.20 am

Another night owl here. At the moment I’m volunteering so can choose what I do and I mooch in for 10.30/11, even though most people seem to be doing 7.30-3.30. When I was teaching I’d often start work again at 11pm and work till 1 then get up as late as possible.

I’m a night owl, I used to love working at night and had a job I loved that started at 10pm.

dont quite have that extreme anymore have a 4pm start but it actually works a lot better then the 10pm one, can still do daytime appts and shopping easier.

🤣🤣🤣

I work 9.30 - 2. Ideal. Especially since I'm now earning more than I used to full-time.

10-6 would work better for me than 9-5. I find it difficult to get to work on time taking into account my daughter’s school opening time and public transport negotiation. My answer would be different if I drove. IM not a morning person so any earlier start time and I would be utterly miserable.

I'm a night owl and I used to love working evenings.

I think my ideal day would be to wake up around 10/11 and have a slow leisurely morning, socialising/hobbies could be done around midday to take advantage of the sunlight, work would start at about 6pm and clock off at 2am. Travel home in the lovely dark night and then sleep.

I find an earlier start most productive. I get more done at work, then have more time at home in the evening to get stuff done.

If I start work later, I stay in bed or mope around in the morning, then don't have enough time in the evening to do what I need to do.

7-3. I work best in the morning and I wake up early. If I lived very near work I would get in earlier. As it is, I get up at 6:40, arrive at work at 8. Teach until 3:30, work until 4:45 (my least productivetime of day), drive home and sometimes work a bit later. I get by best work done on Sunday mornings though, at the dining room table at 7 or even a bit earlier.

I have ADHD and autism. My most productive schedule is genuinely a mixture of long fallow periods with lots of thinking/research and a few intense hours of work, earlier in the day the better. All project based / self employed. And lots of variety! Today I did 2 hours on site early, drafted and submitted a £5k grant application and walked a Corgi, done by 1pm but then with a bit of work pottering 5-6.

I love being up very early, but one of things I like about is the fact that other people aren’t around, so I’d keep things as they are please.

I think wfh helps a fair number of people with productivity (if they’re allowed some flexibility). Some of my best work has been hammering things out through the night. For others, it’s getting up ultra early.

I’d shift the everything to later. Thankfully, I had fully flexible working hours for 30 odd years before I retired, with lots of evening work, so rarely started before 10am, and often worked 3 -11pm or so.

But to have made it really work for me, I needed schools, GPs, hotel breakfasts and so much else to start later.

I don’t mind starting 8:30 but what I’d want if a big break in the afternoon for a nap and then work later into the evening. So maybe lunch break 1-3:30. And then make up the time later. All working from home though!!

Yep this! Love the early hours in work (7-9) when no one is in and then leaving around 4 when it is usually still light

Having some daylight time on the shorter days would work for lots of people wouldn’t it? Yes to the quiet time when others are asleep too!