If you have a mobile phone or smart watch, set your alarm to the sound of a dog barking. Because of at our 100K years of coexistence, this sound elicits a completely different emotional response in the sleeper. You awaken alert and curious rather than resentful and rebellious. Subconsciously, this is a warning from a trusted friend, not a dictatorial machine.
My dad was a baker. To my knowledge he never had any other occupation. I'm 86 years old, so that was a long time ago. Daddy never owned his own bakery; he always worked for other people. However, he retired as Head Baker at one of the largest hospitals in Ft. Worth, Texas. I remember as a child going to the "baker shop", as he called it, and choosing a treat to take home. I'm sorry I was too busy with my own life ever to show interest in his baking. I do have a few of his recipes which I treasure greatly. It was always early to bed and early to rise for him, so weekends were about our only time together. I miss you Daddy, and I miss your delicious treats!
Sometimes Substack will recommend posts and I just gloss over them, this was not one of those posts. This was an awesome read. Big ups to the bakers making delicious treats while the rest of the world sleeps. And Tanya, I wouldn't listen to Three Doors Down...probably Jimmy Eat World (heh).
In my opinion, the key to having the, "perfect job," is to have one you love, is motivating and rewarding. The perfect job also means you are suited to all the important logistical and concrete aspects of that job. It would seem to me, that if you hate getting up early, you would not be suited to working in the bakery and pastry industry no matter how much you love baking. The, "perfect job, is when it doesn't really feel like a job, where you lose track of time, and feel renewed, not depleted. When you find that perfect job and environment, you will be the very best at it, and success is not a goal, it becomes a natural consequence.
I delivered newspapers for 26 years. My start time varied but the last route I had started at 12:15 A.M. I can assure you these people are DOING IT ALL WRONG! Here's the trick and it's easy. Don't wake up and go to work like the day workers. Go to work, come home and go to sleep. I usually slept to around 2:00 p.m. No alarm clocks! Alarm clocks can give a person a heart attack. Seriously. Get up whenever and go about your day. By the time you go to work you have already been up for 8 hours. No dragging yourself in and overloading on caffeine, which will also give you a heart attack, and stomach problems after a while. Almost everyone I worked with did it this way. It's not good for your social life, and you will be up all night on the weekends (I worked six days a week) but you won't go through the torture these people are describing. There's a whole other world out there in the early hours, don't fight it embrace it 100%.
The neurological system is wired to sleep when it's dark, not just in the room, but your environment. Of course you gain some benefit when you shift your schedule and get enough hours of sleep during the day but it's not the same, the stages aren't as deep or as complete. Amazing things happen when we get good sleep. For instance, everything you learned that day or experienced is wired down to memory when you sleep, that's why, "cramming," for tests never works. Secondly and most importantly, your brain shrinks substantially while you sleep, and millions of glial cells, like tiny street sweepers clear all the debris away from the expanded canals throughout your brain. Did you know that if you could flatten your brain out, it would be about the size of two pages of the NYT, it's a very large organ. Good sleep is so crucial to well being, that sleep deprivation is one of the oldest forms of torture. Sleep depravation will eventually lead to psychosis, and death. Some people have no choice they have to alter their normal sleep pattern, and it is not as hard on some as it is on others, but it is not a healthy way to live.
I’m so thankful for bakers. As I read all these, I realized how much I love that you all have chosen to do a shift I would hate. You all find ways to do it and love it. And because you do, the rest of us have yummmy handfuls of deliciousness instead of factory crap. I’m so grateful. Thank you. 💚
Hey, i'm a visitor here but what a great article. I'm trying to do better in the mornings and I saw a neat ideas. Really beautiful to see how different people all cope with the same thing.
I love the mix of pro vs. anti snooze button opinions in this piece.
Bread bakers are saints. Period. End of story. This article just proves that. I will buy the bread and appreciate the baker until my dying days.
If you have a mobile phone or smart watch, set your alarm to the sound of a dog barking. Because of at our 100K years of coexistence, this sound elicits a completely different emotional response in the sleeper. You awaken alert and curious rather than resentful and rebellious. Subconsciously, this is a warning from a trusted friend, not a dictatorial machine.
Or, train your smart dog.
Do one for fishermen
Delightful read and encouraging to hear how we make our daily mundane moments special. Gratitude in each one
proof that the universal ritual of a warm drink never fails
My dad was a baker. To my knowledge he never had any other occupation. I'm 86 years old, so that was a long time ago. Daddy never owned his own bakery; he always worked for other people. However, he retired as Head Baker at one of the largest hospitals in Ft. Worth, Texas. I remember as a child going to the "baker shop", as he called it, and choosing a treat to take home. I'm sorry I was too busy with my own life ever to show interest in his baking. I do have a few of his recipes which I treasure greatly. It was always early to bed and early to rise for him, so weekends were about our only time together. I miss you Daddy, and I miss your delicious treats!
Beautiful!! Thank you Bakers!
Bakers in the kitchen, monks and nuns in the monasteries and convents, going about their quiet inspiring work in the dark, keep the world going 👍
Sometimes Substack will recommend posts and I just gloss over them, this was not one of those posts. This was an awesome read. Big ups to the bakers making delicious treats while the rest of the world sleeps. And Tanya, I wouldn't listen to Three Doors Down...probably Jimmy Eat World (heh).
In my opinion, the key to having the, "perfect job," is to have one you love, is motivating and rewarding. The perfect job also means you are suited to all the important logistical and concrete aspects of that job. It would seem to me, that if you hate getting up early, you would not be suited to working in the bakery and pastry industry no matter how much you love baking. The, "perfect job, is when it doesn't really feel like a job, where you lose track of time, and feel renewed, not depleted. When you find that perfect job and environment, you will be the very best at it, and success is not a goal, it becomes a natural consequence.
Exactly! Niche orientation!
My daughter baked buns for a sub shop. She got stopped by a cop at 3 a.m. who thought she might have been coming from a bar. "No, I'm going to work."
I delivered newspapers for 26 years. My start time varied but the last route I had started at 12:15 A.M. I can assure you these people are DOING IT ALL WRONG! Here's the trick and it's easy. Don't wake up and go to work like the day workers. Go to work, come home and go to sleep. I usually slept to around 2:00 p.m. No alarm clocks! Alarm clocks can give a person a heart attack. Seriously. Get up whenever and go about your day. By the time you go to work you have already been up for 8 hours. No dragging yourself in and overloading on caffeine, which will also give you a heart attack, and stomach problems after a while. Almost everyone I worked with did it this way. It's not good for your social life, and you will be up all night on the weekends (I worked six days a week) but you won't go through the torture these people are describing. There's a whole other world out there in the early hours, don't fight it embrace it 100%.
The neurological system is wired to sleep when it's dark, not just in the room, but your environment. Of course you gain some benefit when you shift your schedule and get enough hours of sleep during the day but it's not the same, the stages aren't as deep or as complete. Amazing things happen when we get good sleep. For instance, everything you learned that day or experienced is wired down to memory when you sleep, that's why, "cramming," for tests never works. Secondly and most importantly, your brain shrinks substantially while you sleep, and millions of glial cells, like tiny street sweepers clear all the debris away from the expanded canals throughout your brain. Did you know that if you could flatten your brain out, it would be about the size of two pages of the NYT, it's a very large organ. Good sleep is so crucial to well being, that sleep deprivation is one of the oldest forms of torture. Sleep depravation will eventually lead to psychosis, and death. Some people have no choice they have to alter their normal sleep pattern, and it is not as hard on some as it is on others, but it is not a healthy way to live.
This is not that easy to implement if you have kids or a rotating roster like I do as a Train Driver
I feel so seen. working at Levain for years literally changed my body clock altogether, but the mornings were so peaceful
This piece was delightful. Who knew of the contingent of bakers that arise so early to bake for our bellies. Lovely.
I’m so thankful for bakers. As I read all these, I realized how much I love that you all have chosen to do a shift I would hate. You all find ways to do it and love it. And because you do, the rest of us have yummmy handfuls of deliciousness instead of factory crap. I’m so grateful. Thank you. 💚
Hey, i'm a visitor here but what a great article. I'm trying to do better in the mornings and I saw a neat ideas. Really beautiful to see how different people all cope with the same thing.