[mikebridgman]

I recently struggled with balancing these three. When my ex-girlfriend started a mandatory "no computer Sundays", I knew something had to change. Here's what has been working for me: get up early. I wake up at 5am, have a few hours to work on side projects or freelance work, and then I head into work at 8am. After work, I don't touch a computer until the next morning. It's been just over a month and I'm loving the results.

[alinajaf]

I did the exact same while working full time and am trying to do the same as a freelancer now.

What I've found is that no matter how early I wake up I have about eight hours in me and then I lose the ability to focus. I have a feeling exercise and a better diet might help.

Don't get me wrong though, having an ultra productive 4 hours before 10am is awesome, and clocking off at 14:00 to read, play with my arduino or do other things is pretty good too. For me at least though it hasn't magically added any extra hard-focus time to the day.

[mikebridgman]

Diet has made a huge difference in maintaining my energy levels throughout the day. In the morning I make a vegetable + fruit smoothie, lunch I usually eat plain chili or some form of meat and vegetables. I try to reserve carbs for before/after exercise.

On days when I splurge and eat pizza or some heavy carbs for lunch, I usually crash pretty hard around 2pm. That's why I save lunch beers for Fridays only! :)

[jmonegro]

Plus, I bet you're much more productive during the day after starting it with side project work.

[m_st]

That sound really interesting. Maybe I should try that to as currently I'm spending too many nights in front of the computer... Would be interesting to hear how that turns out for you. Good luck for now!

[boagworld]

Damn that would kill me! I suck at mornings :)

The principle is spot on though!