In general, research is results-based. Post-docs, PhD students and researchers usually do not have fixed working hours, and this could mean a lot of things, from working from morning till late at night to skipping a whole working day (not recommended!). The major advantage of having flexible work hours rather than a standard 9-5 and the like is that one can choose to work depending on their own timetable. Some people prefer starting to work from early morning because the brain is clean and refreshed. Other people prefer working during the afternoon or at night because they just feel more productive during those hours.

Experiment with various different working hours and settle to the hours that fit best to you. If you find that you prefer working “unusual” hours, like late afternoon or overnight then you can ask your advisor if it’s fine to work like this as you feel more productive. It is also good to ask if it’s fine to actually be in your working place these unusual hours, as some employers (including Universities) have regulations regarding being in the premises overnight. Note, however, that sometimes your “unusual” working hours could cause inconvenience when trying to fix dates for meetings, teleconferences, etc.