Once upon a time, I got up at 5 a.m. just about every day, well before anyone in the house woke up. I wrote, I ran, I drank coffee — all before going in to the office. Aside from the looks of bewildered revulsion I got when I told people I got up at 5 a.m., life was pretty sweet.

Then my younger son decided that 5 or thereabouts was a fine time for him to get up, too. I was still able to drink coffee, but that was pretty much the end of my pre-dawn writing or running. So, I turned myself into a night owl, sleeping until close to 7 a.m. and staying up until midnight. And lo, I was productive again.

Well, that’s over with, it seems. Whatever nighttime mojo I had going for me for all those months has wafted away. Stringing thoughts together in a way that makes for a coherent manuscript just isn’t happening anymore after the kids go to bed. My intentions are good, but my mind is too weak at that hour to hold off a world (wide web) full of appealing distractions.

I’m tired. And when the end of my day arrives and I don’t have any writing to show for it, I don’t feel good at all.

So I’m making a conscious (and entirely voluntary) effort to switch back to morning personhood. So far (meaning, this morning), so good, though I have no intention of seeing 5 a.m. anytime soon. I hope, though, that in addition to making some progress on my current project, I’ll also enjoy the psychological benefit that comes from being able to say throughout the day — no matter what happens during the ensuing hours — “I’ve already written something today.”

I’ll also get to drink my coffee earlier.