The clock strikes 12, and I’m ready to get to work. 

Call me a night owl, but that’s when I get my best work done. If my Google Docs, Spotify and bookshelf had timestamps they would probably agree. Unsurprisingly, almost all of this column was written around midnight.

Midnight. 

It’s between day and night, but the stars are still out. 

Even the name has a certain lure to it, mysterious and foreboding. 

You’d think my brain would be tired by then but somehow it just feels clearer. 12 in the afternoon just doesn’t hit the same way.

Writing, reading, music and drawing feel more magical at night. Sometimes I wonder how different my final product would be if I had done it at another time. I like to think that the night version feels more raw though, like a mess of thoughts that eventually string together to produce something coherent.

Late night creativity isn’t just some sort of aesthetic you see on Pinterest. Maybe it’s always had a sort of forbidden charm to the kid in me who had a bedtime. Or maybe it’s just the absence of the constant hustle and bustle during the day. There’s no other eyes around, no expectations and no distractions. Just me and my thoughts.

On the other hand, I know my brain won’t cooperate nearly as well if I was actively trying to cram for a test or work out problems. 

Midnight productivity isn’t for everyone. It isn’t some sort of magic charm that guarantees success. It feels perfect to me because it’s the time I feel the most productive and energized. I also know a lot of people who are “early birds” and they take early mornings as their perfect cup of tea. 

Everyone just has their own time when their creativity and productivity really shine, whether it’s by the sun or moon.

But at the end of the day, it will always be midnight for me.