Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a morning person. The kind of person who wakes up at dawn (or even before) without an alarm clock. As a child, I was that rare breed of kid that actually enjoyed waking up early, energized and ready to take on the day. But there’s a twist to this tale—I’m also a night owl. Yep, I like to burn the candle at both ends.

It used to be that I’d find myself doing everything at midnight. I’d exercise, write, work on presentations—there was this almost magical quiet that let me dive deep into my productivity zone. These days? Well, let’s just say that midnight looks a bit different. I’ve traded my nighttime workouts for cozy nights on the couch, watching movies or random YouTube rabbit holes until 1 a.m. My 1 a.m. self is more couch potato than productive powerhouse, but I’m still awake, so I guess that makes me a “semi” night person.

Here’s the kicker though—the real challenge is the hours in between. Those sluggish, unproductive hours where the energy from my early morning burst fizzles out and I’m not quite in my late-night groove yet. It’s as if my body is saying, “Hey, you’re either a go-getter at sunrise or a couch-surfing night owl, but I refuse to cooperate between the hours of 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.”

This odd balance of being both an early bird and a semi-night owl leaves me in a weird middle ground. I’ve learned to embrace it though. I figure, as long as I’m functional in the mornings and happily lounging (while very much awake) at night, the in-between hours can just be my “meh” time. After all, we all deserve some hours to coast, right?