📘 Part 3: Getting Up Early

This episode's vocabulary

Trait (n) – a particular quality in your personality. → His sense of humour is one of his best traits.

Have a lie-in (phrasal verb) – to stay in bed later than usual in the morning. → I always have a lie-in on a Sunday.

Work shifts (collocation) – to work for a particular period of time during the day or night. → Doctors and nurses often have to work shifts.

Make an early start (collocation) – to begin something early, especially a journey. → We'll have to make an early start if we want to avoid the traffic.

By and large (idiom) – in general. → By and large, the new system has been a great success.

Ahead of schedule (idiom) – earlier than planned or expected. → We finished the project two weeks ahead of schedule.

Get settled in (phrasal verb) – to begin to feel comfortable in a new place or situation. → Once we've got settled in, we'll have you over for dinner.

Punctual (adj) – arriving, doing something, or happening at the expected, correct time; not late. → He's the sort of man who's always punctual.

Pull an all-nighter (idiom) – to stay awake all night to study or work. → I had to pull an all-nighter to finish my essay.

Get carried away with (phrasal verb) – to become so excited or involved in something that you lose control of your feelings or actions. → I got a bit carried away with the shopping and spent too much money.

Show up (phrasal verb) – to arrive somewhere in order to join a group of people, especially late or unexpectedly. → I invited him for eight o'clock, but he didn't show up until 9:30.

Throw a spanner in the works (idiom) – to do something that suddenly stops a plan from succeeding. → The sudden rainstorm threw a spanner in the works of our outdoor picnic plans.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Do you know anyone who likes to get up early?

Rory: Other than myself, not really, unfortunately. I think it's a very unusual trait in people, but obviously they've found ways of managing their days that work for them. So,

Maria: Can you explain further?

Rory: Yeah, just these days it seems the vast majority of people get up later in the day than me. And why shouldn't they? I probably have different hobbies or habits that require me to get up and they don't have them. So why not have a lie in?

Maria: Why do people get up early?

Rory: Lots of reasons, but I think the big ones are mostly connected to work or being productive in some way. For example, they might work shifts or with people in different time zones and have to make an early start. It could even be something simple, like working in a service industry, which needs to be up and running so that the people who work more regular hours have something that's ready for them to use.

Maria: And what evidence do you have for that?

Rory: That's just simple observation, really. Also, if you have lots of people doing an activity at a certain time, it seems logical to have things ready for them to make any process go more smoothly.

Maria: What kinds of occasions require people to arrive early?

Rory: Well, again, the list is pretty extensive. By and large, even if workplaces have set hours, it's considered good form to arrive at least a little ahead of schedule, just to make a good impression. And if you show up early, then there's more of a chance to get settled in, regardless of what people are doing, you might even be able to leave early, too.

Maria: Has that always been true?

Rory: I think so. Though, obviously there are times and places where being punctual hasn't been as valued and still isn't, but generally people seem to favor that kind of behavior, if they can.

Maria: Why do some people like to stay up late?

Rory: Well, they might have gotten a bit carried away with whatever they're doing and gone past their usual bedtime. That happens if you're having a good time doing whatever it is you're doing. Failing that, it's also possible they just don't need to be up early, like people who work with those from different time zones or people who work later in the day, usually.

Maria: Do you think that can change in the future?

Rory: Oh, absolutely. Especially if it's shift work, that rarely lasts forever. And people change their habits for all kinds of reasons. They might see that they get more done if they get up earlier, for example, and so they embrace that habit instead.

Maria: Is it good to arrive early in any situation?

Rory: Well, maybe not in any situation, but the vast majority of them probably benefit from an early arrival. I suppose the exceptions might be extreme things like if it's something like a surprise party and you're the person who it's being thrown for, some kind of phased operation where a spanner could be thrown into the works if people or things show up before the groundwork is laid. But that's not often the case, though, is it?

Maria: Do you think that will also be true in the future?

Rory: I short of some radical change in how people live, it certainly seems to keep going on like that. I can't even imagine anything that might derail things in such a way.