Burning the midnight oil
Wilson Pickett sings about the "midnight hour". A number of us are familiar with the adage of burning the "midnight oil".
Sometimes, the given job, task, or situation at hand requires us to put in a little extra work. And at times, we don't mind as we understand it comes with the territory given the nature of what it is. It could be that report, proposal, editing, creating, or the creative idea that cannot wait.
At times, the nighttime is the right time (as Ray Charles alluded to). There may be fewer distractions of family, friends, and regular work to where getting things done under the cover of darkness mixed in with a few stars that allows us to be in a focused, peaceful, and creative mode.
One thing to consider is to make sure we don't do this too often.
What I mean by this is there are times you have to listen to your body. While resilient, we know we need our rest and relaxation, so too many long nights can have some consequences in the morning or days after. Every once in a while, it's ok to leave that item alone. At times, rest or not being engaged for a moment can help you with coming up with the creativity and excellence needed for a job or assignment.
Even in writing my book, there are times that I did have some late nights, including a 3:30am conclusion in order to complete edits so it could go to print. However, I did have times to where I broke away from my daily habit of writing a little each day just to keep my head clear for a day or two; this way, when I have to have the long nights, I'm able to.
Again, the night time can be the right time. At times, you do have to burn the midnight oil, so there's nothing inherently wrong with doing so. Even if you make it your habit, you have to periodically give your habits a break so you are giving yourself a break. And in doing so, you can make whatever project, proposal, event, or endeavor happen to the best and greatest of its ability.
