[Swizec]

Yes, some do. It really depends, but a lot of the people I talked to were adamant their best work in terms of coding comes from off-peak hours at the office.

And why do you think a late-night bout of work has to be crazed and caffeine-fueled? You can only pack so much productive time in the day, you won't get more hours from working at night. But you might get better hours if you start working at 4pm instead of 9am.

At the end of the day, it depends.

[fro]

It's not so much about when you work, but that you have a set schedule and routine. If you have a job, usually this is during the day. Knowing when you wake up every day that you will be working at these exact times tremendously helps your focus and production.

Very often late night, sporadic sessions are a product of, "oh crap I have to get some work done! Time for coffee and pounding out as much code as I can."

Not saying you can't be productive at night, but real production comes from day in, day out routine and dedication to the work. It's not as sexy but it's the reality of the job.

[Swizec]

Yup, I agree. Routine is key and I personally like having a large part of that routine set in the night.