Routine: 2 A.M.

Since I only need about 4-5 hours of sleep per day, I have plenty of wake hours to spare. So that I don't waste the time, it helps to have some routine that I swing into daily.  I'm usually wide awake around 2am, without an alarm clock, ready to get rolling. Except for vehicles driving on the nearby street and the occassional dog barking, those early morning hours are remarkably peaceful and productive. The next 3 hours are spent programming or studying something related to software development. On weekdays, I work on LeafCompass.com. On weekends, I focus on personal projects, including a new version of a financial app and a management application for my business.

I've found this 2am - 5am time slot consistently productive such that anything requiring a clear mind and serious focus should be done then. I can usually also cross off a few others tasks: I might look through our finances (online banking and investment portfolios) and respond to messages (emails and social networking messages) from the previous day.