Who Is More Efficient: Night Owl Or Morning Song Bird?

Do morning people have a professional advantage over others? The answer may be yes, according to a recent article in Fortune.

As part of research published by Harvard Business Review (HBR), biologist Christoph Randler found that people who were most energetic in the mornings were more likely to identify long-range goals for themselves and feel in charge of making things happen. Other research has shown that such people even get better grades in school.

While night owls may be more creative, “they’re out of sync with the typical corporate schedule,” Randler told HBR. “When it comes to business success, morning people hold the important cards.”

A growing body of research suggests that will power functions like a muscle. It fails when used too much. By putting important-but-not-urgent activities like exercise, religious practices, or strategic thinking early in the day, you can knock these tasks off your list before your will power is exhausted by the end of the workday.

In short, even if you are the creative night owl, behavior can be changed with a little bit of good old fashioned — you guessed it — discipline. Changing the alarm clock to wake up an hour earlier may not be easy to do at the start, but with practice and discipline, one can change themselves from a night owl to a morning songbird, the article suggests. â—†