Despite promising myself I wouldn’t do it again, having a plan of action, and getting a head start, I ended up having to pull an all-nighter again this week. It’s possible I could have managed my time a bit better, but I refuse to regret taking 24 hours off last weekend and am pretty sure that hour I wasted spent planning a spring trip to Europe was a good investment in my sanity.
I’m getting way too much use out of this Bitmoji!
How To Pull An All-Nighter
Unlike my last all-nighter, when I unintentionally ended up working all night, I went into this one with my eyes wide open. (Is there a pun in there somewhere?) I hope I never need this advice again, but just in case, here are a few steps I took to make it happen.
Fuel Up. Just like any endurance event, having the proper fuel will help you sustain your performance. I opted for a balance of comfort food carbs, fat and caffeine: a peanut butter and honey sandwich on soft wheat bread, potato chips, and a real Coke.
Wear Comfy Clothes. Gear matters too. You want to be comfortable, but avoid wearing pajamas that might signal to your brain that it’s time to go to bed. I opted for a cozy top and sweatpants since we keep our house pretty cool at night.
Turn On All The Lights. More brain games here. Turn on all the lights, and use the brightest settings for any on dimmer switches. If it’s not dark, it’s not time to sleep.
Have Good Company. If you’re up late working with a team, you may not even notice the time passing. Scooby wasn’t much help with my work, but I enjoyed his company–although he probably was annoyed by the bright lights.
Why are we doing this?
Consider Background Noise. This is a tough one when your work requires concentration, but I find having the TV or radio on quietly helps keep me going. I ended up choosing a “Classical” station on Amazon Music because I found talking and commercials too distracting.
Have Interesting Work With An Imminent Deadline. This is probably the most important thing, and why I’m not writing this for sympathy. If I didn’t care, I would have gone to bed. I might blame my all-nighter on being a bit of a control-freak, but my teammates wanted my input. I might blame my all-nighter on being a bit of a perfectionist, but I didn’t even try to review my edits the next day–I just warned my colleagues to check them for typos. Which brings me to the skill I haven’t mastered:
How To Pull An All-Nighter And Be At Your Best The Next Day. When I crawled into bed at 6:30 am, I was hoping to get at least 3 hours sleep, but a crazy storm woke me at 8:30. I planned to drag myself into work after having some coffee, but then came to my senses enough to “work from home.” I spent most of the day on “easy” work, and when I got the “all clear” from my team, logged off for a mid-afternoon power nap.
Weekly Run Down
This was a really hard week, with minimal workouts until I reclaimed my life this weekend. I did get my Scooby Miles in, and kept up with Marcia’s plank challenge most days.
Monday: 4.3 Scooby Miles
Monday is usually a strength day, but since it was supposed to rain the rest of the week, I opted for a run.
Tuesday: Strength workout
Wednesday: Stretching and light strength workout
I was up pretty late Tuesday night and would have skipped my workout all together, but Marcia’s plank challenge got me down to my basement gym. Once I was there I ended up spending about 1/2 hour stretching on my fitness ball, planking, and doing other light strength exercises (bird-dogs, etc.)
Thursday: Strength workout
I had crashed early Wednesday night, but needed to get an earlier start on my work day than going to yoga would let me. I opted for a solid strength workout to counter-act the excessive desk-sitting and computer-hunching I’ve been doing.
Friday: One mile walk with Scooby
I was still working when it was time for Scooby’s morning walk, so my husband took him out. When it came time for his after-dinner walk, I was more than ready to stretch my legs and get back to my regularly scheduled programming!
Saturday: 8.1 Scooby Miles
I wasn’t sure my body would be up for 8 miles, so I chose a route that I could make 6 or 8. When I got to the decision point I was feeling good, so I took the longer route.
Sunday: 29.7 mile bike ride
I was determined not to let the weather psych me out again, and this time there were no freak rain showers just as I was getting ready. It took about 10 miles 10 to get warm, but then it felt fantastic!
The sculpture is called “Taking Flight”
Thanks to Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down link up
–join in for motivation and encouragement!
Do you have any spring break or summer vacation plans yet?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
You are incredible! I don’t think I could pull an all-nighter. I couldn’t even do it in college!
I’m really amazed I could do it, although I’m not planning to repeat it anytime soon (for real this time)!
Wow! There’s no way I could function with no sleep. And working from home is not an option for me, obviously. Amazing!
I was at my limit when I went to bed. If the storm hadn’t woken me I think I’d have felt better, but there’s no way I could have made it through a full day.
Oh man, I’m sorry Coco 🙁 I know work has been really busy/crazy for you the past few months. I hope that you get some relief soon!
Even with the all nighter, you still got in a ton of workouts this week. I’m not sure how you do it all!
Knock-on-wood I think I’m through the worst of it! -Scooby gets me out the door — then I’m awake. 🙂
Way to go!! You got it done 🙂 I have been contemplating pulling an all-nighter to tackle a huge chunk of the “missing-pics-blog-fix-up.” Contemplating is only as far as it’s gotten, though LOL I don’t get paid for my blog, after all. There’s nothing to gain by putting that kind of work into it (and missing sleep, which is already a rare commodity for me) other than for peace of mind in having it done. You did share some great tips for an all-nighter!
Yeah, I don’t recommend it, but I bet it’s frustrating to have that issue hanging over you. It might be worth a few late nights? Or a dreary weekend afternoon?
wow I don’t know how you do it! I also think you are quite brave to ride outside in the crazy winds we have this time of the year. I need to hear more about this European adventure you are planning
It wasn’t too windy today! Europe is for work (big suprise), but to Copenhagen and Geneva, and we are figuring out how my husband can join me at the end of the week. 🙂
I haven’t pulled an all nighter since college.
You are amazing being able to still be active.
Kudos to you!
Looks like you had decent weather for your long run and bike ride.
Yeah, at least when I was done I didn’t have to remember anything I’d done and take test on it in a few hours! We had pretty great weather this weekend — I’m glad I was able to get out and enjoy it.
You are amazing! I would feel so groggy the next day. But it’s great to be motivated and interested enough to pull an all-nighter. How do you even find the time to blog and comment as well?!
And wait – a trip to Europe! I just read in your comment above that it will be Copenhagen and Geneva. Let me know if you will be passing through Zurich! I’ll be there all April.
I wasn’t on social media much, but still stole my Starbucks/Facebook time in the morning. 🙂 I think I’ll be flying from Copenhagen to Geneva this time — and it will be in May.
Wow. I couldn’t tell you the last time I pulled an all nighter. If I’m up past 10, I’m exhausted the next day — well, it usually hits me the day after.
i don’t know how you did it all. Bandit would not be a good companion. No doubt he’d be wanted to go in & out all night, he gets really antsy if I don’t come to bed on time. Or this morning, I had a rare sleeping late day (which was 6 am, LOL), and when he came out, didn’t find me, he went back into the bedroom & started to play with Lola — more likely she started to play with him — poor Mr. Judy. No going back to sleep after that!
We went to Copenhagen for a day once decades ago. It was a layover on the flight back & I said let’s just take a day there. Never been to Switzerland, though. Sounds like fun!
You are a rock star! Congrats on getting through, it’s when you care and the project is interesting that extra work is bearable.
Great tips but I’m hoping to never need them! I’m not sure i could pull an all nighter any more. Though I agree that some sort of background noise helps me concentrate. I love that sculpture in your Sunday photo.
Wonder Woman
I’m not sure I could drink a regular coke anymore, but I’d be mainlining the coffee to make this work.
Glad the project is in your rear view. I have done no planning besides Bermuda, which didn’t happen until last week, but have DC and Spain on the horizon along with two work conferences (Albany, NY and San Francisco, the latter of which is turning into a vacation). I learned my lesson trying to sightsee during Cherry Blossoms last time, but am still (ridiculously) determined to get into the National Archives.
goodness Coco! I can’t believe you did it again! I would have been a wreck for a week! You still got some great movement in and another bike ride!! whoo hoo!
so when are you coming to see me? 😉
Oh wow. I only have one all-nighter to my name and that was in college. That is some determination on your part to push through. Well done!
Aw, Scooby is great for runs, walks, and all-nighter support! Best doggo!
I have pulled some recent all-nighters, due to being uncomfortable and not for any productive reasons. I always feel pretty loopy the next day, but I can usually get back on track in 48 hours, which is helpful.
Glad you got everything done!
Wowza! I couldn’t tell you the last time I pulled an all-nighter…maybe b-school? I’m impressed by your focus and determination. Great job getting it done…and I hope you don’t have to do this again any time soon!
All nighters are rough! I did many of them in college and then when I was in graduate school for my teaching degree. It would take me days to recover.
I haven’t stayed up all night since college, and I really don’t think I could do it anymore. I would rather get a few hours of sleep and wake up really early to get work done. I just can’t function without any sleep!