Will McTighe’s Seven Habits for Reducing Late Nights at Work

In a recent LinkedIn post, Will McTighe discusses seven work habits he believes can push people into late nights—and the routines he uses to address them. This article reports on McTighe’s post and examines the practical thread connecting his suggestions: use time and technology deliberately, rather than letting them generate more work.

“Most of what keeps us working late is self-inflicted.”

Protect time for the work that matters

Several of McTighe’s recommendations focus on deciding what deserves attention before the day fills up. He says he limits weekly planning, picks two or three tasks to finish, and avoids adding new priorities until those are complete. He also groups similar tasks into blocks, reserving mornings for demanding work and afternoons for calls.

As McTighe notes, the aim is to reduce the costs of constant switching. His schedule assigns different kinds of work to different periods, while his advice on new commitments adds a workload check before agreeing. He says he blocks a few hours each day for deep work and keeps that time protected.

“I check what’s already on my plate for the week before I agree to anything new.”

The post also treats the start of the day as a boundary worth defending. McTighe says he keeps his phone out of the bedroom and uses Brick in the morning, directing the first hour toward the day’s most important work instead of messages, news or email.

Use AI to reduce friction, not expand the workload

McTighe’s technology advice is selective rather than tool-driven. He describes choosing one tool for each task and connecting much of his workflow through Claude, while cautioning that a trending product does not automatically belong in a working setup. The underlying point is to keep a tool when it works, rather than continually adding options that demand attention.

He draws a distinction between using AI to support judgment and asking it to replace judgment. According to McTighe, AI can help brainstorm, challenge ideas and produce a first draft, while creative and strategic work remains open-ended.

“AI is good at solving finite problems. But being creative and strategic has infinite possibilities.”

Review whether automation is paying off

McTighe recommends automating repeated tasks such as meeting notes, internal tracking and reminders. He also suggests auditing those systems every few months. If correcting an automated output takes longer than doing the task manually, he argues, the setup needs to change.

Together, the seven suggestions amount to a case for setting limits: on planning, interruptions, commitments and software. McTighe closes with a modest challenge to readers—fix one or two habits in the coming week. His post presents that incremental approach as a way to make late nights less routine, rather than as a promise that every workload can be solved by better scheduling.