When I was in college and had some translation work to do, I always waited until around midnight, because that was the time my brain seemed to be the most productive. The translations appeared to come easier late at night. I am not an early morning person and my brain certainly isn’t. There are days I don’t think my brain wakes up until around noon. 🙂
I have not been in college in many years, but I am still a night owl that doesn’t function well early in the morning. More than just the time of day, I do best with music and background noise. The library was always too quiet for me.
When I had homework to do or an article to work on, I would head to the local eating establishment, grab a table that I could spread out on, getting something to eat and have at it.
Before Covid, I was at the local Hard Rock Cafe every week and would spend a couple of hours working…and munching on nachos…while the music played – my best inspiration! I don’t know for sure, but it felt like I got more work done in those couple of hours than I did in four or five at home – too many distractions at home. I need to get back to that; my productivity has definitely suffered from the lack of the proper inspiration.
A great deal of my work is done on the lap top/computer; but if I am working on an original piece, especially from an interview, I am most productive when I can use a pen and paper. If I get “in the groove” it is like the words and thoughts go from my brain, down my arm, and write themselves on to the paper. Any editing or spelling issues get taken care of when I type the article in.
In the end, it all boils down to what is the most comfortable for you when working or creating. Music helps me to create; quiet is a distraction.