Why Programmers Work At Night

A popular saying goes that programmers are machines that turn caffeine into code.

And sure enough, ask a random programmer when they do their best work and there’s a high chance they will admit to a lot of late nights.  Some earlier, some later.  A popular trend is to get up at 4am and get some work done before the day’s craziness begins.  Others like going to bed at 4am.

At the gist of all this is avoiding distractions.  But you could just lock the door, what’s so special about the night?

I think it boils down to three things: the maker’s schedule, the sleepy brain and bright computer screens.

There’s an ebook that sprang out of this at Why programmers work at night.  A book about programmers, by a programmer.  by Swizec Teller