I finally wrote the book I kept threatening to write for a few years on and off: Why Developers Code In Dark. It is out now on Leanpub. You can grab it here: https://leanpub.com/whydeveloperscodeinthedark
This book looks at a thing many of us quietly do, shipping code late at night, and asks a simple question: why does working in the dark work for so many developers? The answer is not just “no meetings”. There is psychology, physiology, and culture in the mix, plus trade offs that deserve an honest look.
Why this book
I have spent years working “normal” hours and years working late, and I kept seeing the same pattern: after daylight hours end, the noise floor drops, attention gets easier, and deep work shows up. There is a cost if you run night mode as a lifestyle. I wanted to document the upsides, the downsides, and sustainable strategies so people can make informed choices instead of stumbling into burnout (or blowing up a relationship) by accident.
Inside the book
The book is a mix of stories, research, and practical playbooks:
- The psychology of late night focus, attention residue, and why interruptions wreck complex work.
- The circadian science, what happens when you push your biology off its rails, and what can be mitigated.
- The social side: relationships, loneliness, and how to stay connected when you work while others sleep.
- Sustainable tactics: light, sleep, food timing, exercise, mental health, team agreements, and boundaries.
- Real talk on trade offs so you do not romanticise something that might not fit your life stage.
A couple of tastes
On why coffee shops work even when they are noisy:
“Ever notice how you can solve problems at a busy café that stumped you at home? There’s actual science behind this. The gentle hum of conversation and espresso machines around 50 to 70 decibels can help your brain work better.”
On why nights feel productive beyond no meetings:
“After 6 PM, product managers go home. The Slack firehose becomes a gentle drip. The bigger win is eliminating attention residue. Evening hours remove that background monitoring so your mind can tackle the hard stuff.”
On the biology you cannot ignore:
“Your body learned to sync with day and night over millions of years. Forcing all nighters creates internal desynchronization that touches nearly every system in the body.”
Who it is for
- Developers who already gravitate to late night sessions and want to make it sustainable.
- Folks pushed into odd hours by time zones, family, or on call.
- Managers who want to understand why some engineers do their best work after sunset and how to support them without burning them out.
What it is not
This is not a pep talk to abandon daylight or a macho “sleep is for the weak” rant. It is an honest look at a real phenomenon in our industry. Night work can be a superpower for creative, complex work. It can also hurt your health if you pretend biology does not exist. Both can be true.
Pricing and Leanpub
The minimum price is $5. That covers some of the time and polish that went into it. If you get more value, Leanpub lets you pay more. If you are on a tight budget, the base price is there for you. I have published on Leanpub before, including a couple of well received Aurelia books, and I like it because I can ship useful versions, update based on reader feedback, and keep the files DRM free.
What you will learn
- How to reduce attention residue so deep work actually happens.
- What the coffee shop effect gets right and how to recreate it at home.
- Practical circadian tactics that help without pretending you are an astronaut.
- How to talk about night work with your team and your family.
- When to pull the ripcord and move back to daylight.
- How remote work shapes night work, from coordination to culture.
- How to embrace your inner vampire without becoming a hermit.
- How partners and families can work with a night owl schedule, including a dedicated chapter for the people who love us.
Get the book
If this resonates, or if you have wondered whether your best work at 11 PM is a bug or a feature, pick up Why Developers Code In Dark on Leanpub: https://leanpub.com/whydeveloperscodeinthedark
If you do read it, I would love to hear your story and what helped or did not. I will use that feedback to keep improving the book and to write more pieces about working with, not against, how we actually focus.