I can only speak for myself with over 30 years of programming experience. So many managers, CEOs and colleges have tried to get me into an office between "working-hours" and it just failed - EPIC. In an office I get distracted all the time and when I finally have "the flow" some security is chasing me out of the building due to closing time.
Being a programmer isn't like flipping burgers or any other job where you perform predefined tasks and then go home. Programming is a creative and highly abstract process. Reading well written code is like reading poetry and for any artist, let it be a painter, author, designer etc. we can't be 100% creative and productive between 08:00 and 17:00. We all need different environments to thrive and stimulate our mind. When I get stuck I simply need to distract myself by spending time with friends, go down town for some coffee, watching people and just relax. I know that my subconscious will keep processing the task at hand and suddenly a solution will pop-up in my mind from nowhere. However this can be a bit tricky in the middle of the night if you are in a sleepy small town.
So when all my colleagues, CEOs and managers gave up on me and let me roam freely I got rid of all watches and alarm clocks. I go to bed when I'm tired, sleep as long I want and then get up to work (for example I went up 15:20 today). This might be in the middle of the day or night, it doesn't matter, I listen to my own body instead. This puts me on my highest performance and I do prefer the night over the days.
I can only speak for myself with over 30 years of programming experience. So many managers, CEOs and colleges have tried to get me into an office between "working-hours" and it just failed - EPIC. In an office I get distracted all the time and when I finally have "the flow" some security is chasing me out of the building due to closing time.
Being a programmer isn't like flipping burgers or any other job where you perform predefined tasks and then go home. Programming is a creative and highly abstract process. Reading well written code is like reading poetry and for any artist, let it be a painter, author, designer etc. we can't be 100% creative and productive between 08:00 and 17:00. We all need different environments to thrive and stimulate our mind. When I get stuck I simply need to distract myself by spending time with friends, go down town for some coffee, watching people and just relax. I know that my subconscious will keep processing the task at hand and suddenly a solution will pop-up in my mind from nowhere. However this can be a bit tricky in the middle of the night if you are in a sleepy small town.
So when all my colleagues, CEOs and managers gave up on me and let me roam freely I got rid of all watches and alarm clocks. I go to bed when I'm tired, sleep as long I want and then get up to work (for example I went up 15:20 today). This might be in the middle of the day or night, it doesn't matter, I listen to my own body instead. This puts me on my highest performance and I do prefer the night over the days.