Same. Get a morning routine going. I read The Miracle Morning on a recommendation of a friend, and now I wake up at 430am to start my routine then go straight into my side hustle before "showing up" for work @ 10. Think about it like this: The best hours of your day are the ones in the morning when your head is clear and you're all stocked up on willpower. Those should be yours. The leftovers should be for whoever you're working for. Not the other way around. The most difficult part for me has been making sure I'm in bed by 9pm.

Maybe I'm overthinking this, but do you think it's worth worrying about the timing of coffee/breakfast/exercise? Do you find you're more focused when fasted, or after you've had something to eat? I'd love to try this routine, but I really don't know what it feels like to be "stocked up on willpower" in the mornings.

Yes, the overall routine does matter. Different routines work for different people, but my personal anecdote is that I get up, exercise, eat breakfast, then spend an hour on my projects.

In the before times I did this for about a year and it worked really well.

I had a commute that would take over and hour with traffic and 25 minutes without. So I would leave about 5:15AM and head to a coffeeshop near the office. I would work on my project till about 7:45, and then head to the office.

I made a lot of progress, and then about the time that Corona hit, I decided to shelve the project for various reasons.

That's what I do as well and can recommend it.

I found I have more energy and focus as everyone else is getting ready for their day.

The secret is not to go to HN, twitter, etc :)

If you can't find time in the morning, meditating after you finish your day job also helps.

It's like leaving all thoughts about work at work and continue with fresh(er) state.

Thanks. This actually makes sense. I'm going to try this from tomorrow.

Pay yourself first - commit the bulk of your energy/mental capacity to problem solving & learning for your side project first thing in the morning. Cut out all distractions during that period.

That's what Miracle Morning (great book) suggests you do. Wake up early and get your personal affairs and goals done while everyone else is sleeping. Less distractions in the morning too!