Do you stay up late? Luckily, being at an online school means that we can work at whatever time we want. Here are a few tips for maximizing your productivity during your most awake hours – however insane they may be.

Personally, I get a huge surge of energy at around 11:00pm. It lasts until 1am, sometimes later. I know many other students who do this as well; and end up sleeping in until mid-afternoon. The first thing to remember is that just because you stay up late, doesn’t mean you should sleep late. I would say that the biggest temptation with staying up late is the idea of sleeping all morning. Calculate your hours- you don’t need more than eight or nine. Sleeping too much makes you lethargic, so it’s important to have a set wake-up time, no matter when you fall asleep. If you fall asleep at 1am, set an alarm to wake yourself up by 10am. Be sure to maintain a schedule, waking up at around the same time, no matter when you fall asleep.

Another tip is to give yourself a cut-off time. It can be hard to wind down after doing work because your mind is active. This can lead to falling asleep and waking up later and later, which can mess up your biological clock and leave you feeling fuzzy and dull the next day. Set your cut-off time for about an hour before you plan to fall asleep. Work hard right up until this point, then set your work down and relax. Get away from the bright computer screen; the bright lights trick your mind into thinking it's day. This keeps your mind awake and makes it hard to know when you’re really tired. Try reading, drawing, or writing to wind your mind down and fall asleep more easily.

You should always try to schedule your work around your energy cycle. Take a few days to figure out exactly when you are at your most productive. For me, it’s between 7 and 8pm, and 11pm and 12am. I write down everything I need to do for the day, and put the things that take the most concentration and effort at those times (math, essays, studying for tests). Plan mindless things (checking email, getting on the forum) right after hard work (English, history, science).

The great thing about working late at night is that nobody else is around to distract you. Night owls and early birds share this advantage; they can break free from the distractions of the outside world and do their most mentally challenging work.

In short, it’s all about finding what works best for you. Even if you fall asleep before 9pm every night, take the points I made in this article into consideration. Plan your work according to when you are most active, and when you have few distractions. Put off mindless tasks until after you get your hard work done. And lastly, set a schedule for waking up and not sleeping too late.