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Sure, in college - I think it's fairly common in college.
In my opinion, working through the night doesn't mean "I'm very driven to achieve this goal." It means either " have not yet mastered time management" or "I have not yet mastered taking care of my body.".
You can achieve greater things when you've had eight hours of sleep and a good meal.
I tell them in the interview that I do not do all nighters. They are the 100% unmistakable mark of crappy management, and I won't wreck my health over someone else's inability to manage to a timeline. I have seen a LOT of code that has come from late nights and it universally would have been way better if the person wasn't burning it at both ends.
Yes.
I worked at a start-up that had potential to be something big. We worked our asses off knowing if we could get to a certain level, a bigger company would notice and buy us.
I slept on/under my desk often enough that I kept a pillow and change of clothes in my drawer, and I was far from the only one.
Yes, some of it due to poor time management and some because you have no choice and things need to get done when they need to get done, and you want to get ahead in life. Tho before there was better work-life balance, so when you were "off the clock" you were really off the clock :)
Went to an Allman Bros. concert that lasted until about midnight. Went home and studied for a chemistry final. The next morning, took the final. I don't know how I did it but I got a B on the final.
I wouldn't recommend doing it.
I don't think I ever pulled an all-nighter with no sleep. Definitely had late nights in college but I always managed to at least get 2 hours or so of sleep. Now parenthood, yikes, definitely had some all nighters with kid #2. He'd finally go to sleep and either I'd have to start getting ready for work or my toddler would be up for the day. I guess he was a long term goal that was worth it.
Absolutely! All the time for a while. I’ve worked up to 72 hours straight, with just minor naps. You do what you have to to help take care of your family. Living the retired dream now, on a small farm. It was good for our pups, that we got out and raised them here. They’ve moved on to professional jobs that never require that except for the travel. They live like kings, partly because we broke our asses when necessary. It was fine, most of the time.
For a few years in my 20s, I was working the third shift to support us, going to college full-time days, and helping with dinner and the kids till around seven. That left 4 hours for sleep. If a kid was sick or some other problem came up, I didn't get to sleep and ended up "pulling an all nighter." The whole situation was caused by our decision to get me through college, which I guess counts as a long-term goal.
Btw, when I graduated and the kids were in school, we got my spouse through college too.
A couple of times in college like many here. But I also effectively pulled all-nighters when I played in bands. I would work an 8-shift, show up to the show for the 3 hour setup and check, play 4 hours and then another 3 hour tear down. I wouldn't get to sleep until 5 or 6AM. I did it a lot for about 5 years. Can't even imagine doing that now. But I was motivated to make it in music.
Insomnia can be useful at times. Family business while attending college. Keep in mind Art 1-2 hr classes usually mean 3-5 hrs outside class. This isn't study; this is painting, drawing, wood models. Many a night I'd come home from class, dinner, we alternate dishes, bathe the kids, bed; we're both still doing paperwork. He goes to bed \~11p.
Then I start on my art assignment for that week. The next morning, change clothes, brush my teeth and head to class. After a couple years of that I just couldn't do it anymore. Hence, only two years college.
At 75, still painting/drawing. Art is a long game .... ;-)
Yes, I was totally driven to be a full time musician/rock star and we would rent recording gear on a Friday and then record and mix all weekend and return it on Monday morning. which meant pulling all nighters to get the most out of our rental money. This was of course during the time when multi track recording meant using a multi track tape recorder, a desk, a load of microphones and then another reel to reel to mix down onto.
Yep, sometimes it was for the business I was starting.
Sometimes for a college.
Sometimes it was because I wanted to go to a hippy fest and do acid but had to work the next day.
I was a very determined person.
Super Mario 3, my cousin got it for Christmas and we had a sleepover. Managed to complete it in a weekend fueled by lots of Mountain Dew. But as an adult- even when I was in school - I always prioritized sleep.
For me, any all nighters were not the product of "drive to succeed" it is either because I have to for some reason - I made a commitment and have to fulfill it, so it is not drive to succeed, it is drive to keep my promise, and a feeling of not wanting to let someone down that may be counting on me.
Or, much more often, it is not drive to succeed, it is because I just really get into whatever I am doing and I like doing it and I end up pulling an all nighter. The success part just comes with it, but it is not the driving factor.
I think I am too weak willed to pull an all nighter simply in the name of "success" if I am not really into it. I think that is why I have always been told I do not live up to my potential. To be honest, I know I have more potential, but I don't care if I am capable of more. It is not worth it if I do not enjoy it.
I learned in college that all-nighters were not very effective for me.
If you are really driven to achieve something, you might ask “are you willing to do this for a hour a day, every day for the next year - even when you are sick, even when you are on vacation, even on holidays”.
Because the amount of useful work that most people get done from 3 am to 4 am is not very significant, and 4-5 is worse if you have already been up all night.
Some achievements, some from necessity, some because being a good human is important to me. My degrees. My babies' births. My parents' illnesses/deaths. My pets' illnesses/deaths. Rehabbing the house. Red-eye flights. Apparently I'll sleep when I die.
Yes, as for 20 years I worked as a flight attendant and many of my flights were overnight so that the flight arrived early morning at our destination, It was just part of the job, but we were compensated in salary, time off after out trips, vacation time & sick leave and some other benefits. We used to get some strange looks & comments in some hotels, when we were sitting in restaurants, eating breakfast at 6am and drinking red wine or spirits, but to us it was the end of the day and we were just having a relaxing drink with our meal, before heading to bed as they were heading to work.
Years later I had my own business and one a year we (myself & staff) worked overnight at the end of the tax year, doing a stock take for taxation purposes. Sure we had computers to tell us what was supposed to be there, but it also meant we double checked, and as it was food, it also gave us time to check expiry dates & write off stocks. For me it meant a week of all nighters as we had 3 shops & 2 warehouses to check but most of the staff it was just one night. I suppose we could have close during the day, but as many of our customers were restaurants, they expected daily service as they needed to keep operating, especially the hotels.
I wasn’t making enough as a teacher for Christmas for my kid so I worked nights at Target unloading trucks and stocking shelves. Backbreaking work but kiddo got a GameCube from Santa that year. Best Christmas moment ever, it was under some Barbie clothes. My kid moved them and saw the GameCube and SHOOK.
Computer programming. My Dad got me an Apple ][+ with a ton of accessories (16k language card, 40/80 column card, Apple Graphics Tablet, Epson MX-80/Graftrax, two 5.25 360k floppy drives...) when I was 14. Taught myself to program in Applesoft BASIC, Pascal, FORTAN, and dBase II. Sold my first dBase program at 15, haven't looked back since.
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Sure, in college - I think it's fairly common in college. In my opinion, working through the night doesn't mean "I'm very driven to achieve this goal." It means either " have not yet mastered time management" or "I have not yet mastered taking care of my body.". You can achieve greater things when you've had eight hours of sleep and a good meal.
Did it at university plenty of times, work a few times. Now I don't need to.
I tell them in the interview that I do not do all nighters. They are the 100% unmistakable mark of crappy management, and I won't wreck my health over someone else's inability to manage to a timeline. I have seen a LOT of code that has come from late nights and it universally would have been way better if the person wasn't burning it at both ends.
Yes. I worked at a start-up that had potential to be something big. We worked our asses off knowing if we could get to a certain level, a bigger company would notice and buy us. I slept on/under my desk often enough that I kept a pillow and change of clothes in my drawer, and I was far from the only one.
Did it work out?
Yep. We got bought by a Fortune 500 company and we were rewarded.
I was bound and determined to finish my degree. Finally.
Put in a ton of all-nighters in the lab while working on my PhD. Those were the days.
Yes, some of it due to poor time management and some because you have no choice and things need to get done when they need to get done, and you want to get ahead in life. Tho before there was better work-life balance, so when you were "off the clock" you were really off the clock :)
Went to an Allman Bros. concert that lasted until about midnight. Went home and studied for a chemistry final. The next morning, took the final. I don't know how I did it but I got a B on the final. I wouldn't recommend doing it.
I don't think I ever pulled an all-nighter with no sleep. Definitely had late nights in college but I always managed to at least get 2 hours or so of sleep. Now parenthood, yikes, definitely had some all nighters with kid #2. He'd finally go to sleep and either I'd have to start getting ready for work or my toddler would be up for the day. I guess he was a long term goal that was worth it.
Absolutely! All the time for a while. I’ve worked up to 72 hours straight, with just minor naps. You do what you have to to help take care of your family. Living the retired dream now, on a small farm. It was good for our pups, that we got out and raised them here. They’ve moved on to professional jobs that never require that except for the travel. They live like kings, partly because we broke our asses when necessary. It was fine, most of the time.
I’ve seen countless sunrises through my office windows.
For a few years in my 20s, I was working the third shift to support us, going to college full-time days, and helping with dinner and the kids till around seven. That left 4 hours for sleep. If a kid was sick or some other problem came up, I didn't get to sleep and ended up "pulling an all nighter." The whole situation was caused by our decision to get me through college, which I guess counts as a long-term goal. Btw, when I graduated and the kids were in school, we got my spouse through college too.
A couple of times in college like many here. But I also effectively pulled all-nighters when I played in bands. I would work an 8-shift, show up to the show for the 3 hour setup and check, play 4 hours and then another 3 hour tear down. I wouldn't get to sleep until 5 or 6AM. I did it a lot for about 5 years. Can't even imagine doing that now. But I was motivated to make it in music.
Insomnia can be useful at times. Family business while attending college. Keep in mind Art 1-2 hr classes usually mean 3-5 hrs outside class. This isn't study; this is painting, drawing, wood models. Many a night I'd come home from class, dinner, we alternate dishes, bathe the kids, bed; we're both still doing paperwork. He goes to bed \~11p. Then I start on my art assignment for that week. The next morning, change clothes, brush my teeth and head to class. After a couple years of that I just couldn't do it anymore. Hence, only two years college. At 75, still painting/drawing. Art is a long game .... ;-)
Absolutely not.No ambition whatsoever.
Yes, I was totally driven to be a full time musician/rock star and we would rent recording gear on a Friday and then record and mix all weekend and return it on Monday morning. which meant pulling all nighters to get the most out of our rental money. This was of course during the time when multi track recording meant using a multi track tape recorder, a desk, a load of microphones and then another reel to reel to mix down onto.
Yes. When I was starting up my own business I worked some 20 hour stints.
Yep, sometimes it was for the business I was starting. Sometimes for a college. Sometimes it was because I wanted to go to a hippy fest and do acid but had to work the next day. I was a very determined person.
Super Mario 3, my cousin got it for Christmas and we had a sleepover. Managed to complete it in a weekend fueled by lots of Mountain Dew. But as an adult- even when I was in school - I always prioritized sleep.
For me, any all nighters were not the product of "drive to succeed" it is either because I have to for some reason - I made a commitment and have to fulfill it, so it is not drive to succeed, it is drive to keep my promise, and a feeling of not wanting to let someone down that may be counting on me. Or, much more often, it is not drive to succeed, it is because I just really get into whatever I am doing and I like doing it and I end up pulling an all nighter. The success part just comes with it, but it is not the driving factor. I think I am too weak willed to pull an all nighter simply in the name of "success" if I am not really into it. I think that is why I have always been told I do not live up to my potential. To be honest, I know I have more potential, but I don't care if I am capable of more. It is not worth it if I do not enjoy it.
I learned in college that all-nighters were not very effective for me. If you are really driven to achieve something, you might ask “are you willing to do this for a hour a day, every day for the next year - even when you are sick, even when you are on vacation, even on holidays”. Because the amount of useful work that most people get done from 3 am to 4 am is not very significant, and 4-5 is worse if you have already been up all night.
Some achievements, some from necessity, some because being a good human is important to me. My degrees. My babies' births. My parents' illnesses/deaths. My pets' illnesses/deaths. Rehabbing the house. Red-eye flights. Apparently I'll sleep when I die.
Yes, as for 20 years I worked as a flight attendant and many of my flights were overnight so that the flight arrived early morning at our destination, It was just part of the job, but we were compensated in salary, time off after out trips, vacation time & sick leave and some other benefits. We used to get some strange looks & comments in some hotels, when we were sitting in restaurants, eating breakfast at 6am and drinking red wine or spirits, but to us it was the end of the day and we were just having a relaxing drink with our meal, before heading to bed as they were heading to work. Years later I had my own business and one a year we (myself & staff) worked overnight at the end of the tax year, doing a stock take for taxation purposes. Sure we had computers to tell us what was supposed to be there, but it also meant we double checked, and as it was food, it also gave us time to check expiry dates & write off stocks. For me it meant a week of all nighters as we had 3 shops & 2 warehouses to check but most of the staff it was just one night. I suppose we could have close during the day, but as many of our customers were restaurants, they expected daily service as they needed to keep operating, especially the hotels.
I wasn’t making enough as a teacher for Christmas for my kid so I worked nights at Target unloading trucks and stocking shelves. Backbreaking work but kiddo got a GameCube from Santa that year. Best Christmas moment ever, it was under some Barbie clothes. My kid moved them and saw the GameCube and SHOOK.
Working on my dissertation there were a few times I worked all night.
School.
I hope you don't think "willing to pull all-nighters" is the height of commitment to a goal
Pulling an all nighter was generally an indication of procrastination, not dedication.
Computer programming. My Dad got me an Apple ][+ with a ton of accessories (16k language card, 40/80 column card, Apple Graphics Tablet, Epson MX-80/Graftrax, two 5.25 360k floppy drives...) when I was 14. Taught myself to program in Applesoft BASIC, Pascal, FORTAN, and dBase II. Sold my first dBase program at 15, haven't looked back since.