Not sleeping in
Posted on June 14, 2008
I’ve always considered myself to not be “a morning person”. For years, I’ve set my alarm earlier than I really needed to, knowing that it would go off in the morning, then I’d hit the snooze button a few times, sometimes managing to turn off the alarm entirely, and falling back to sleep. Ultimately, this made me late, and I’d start the day in a bit of a panic, annoyed with myself for running late, forgetting things, and getting to work behind schedule and somewhat flustered.
When I first started my current job, I was using public transport to get to and from work, which meant I had to stick to someone else’s schedule. I live quite close to the train station, so it was easy to leave the house on time to get to the station just in time to get on the train. So, of course, it was almost always a last minute dash to get out the door on time, with things undone, often having to run back to pick up that vital little thing I forgot (normally my cellphone), then rushing off, hoping to get to the station before the train left.
Any of this sounding familiar?
These days, my alarm goes off at 5, and I’m generally up within the next 10 minutes or so. The next 80-90 minutes see me breakfasted, showered and dressed for work, and leaves me plenty of time to get my head straight for the day, build up a good frame of mind (which seems to last all day, most days), and still do a bit of morning reading or writing before I leave for work around 6:30. My (self imposed) target for being at my desk is 7:15, and my drive to work is around half an hour, so I have a bit of buffer in there, but I rarely need it - my schedule is sufficiently relaxed that everything just seems to fall into place. Everything (including my cellphone) is (most of the time) where I expect it to be, so I just slip it into place when the time is right. Because everything has a place where it’s expected to be, I rarely miss anything, and have to rush back for it.
The biggest factor, for me, is the frame of mind. I still don’t know exactly why, but I’m in a better mental state when I get up early. I seem to have an enhanced ability to focus, to get things done, and that lasts the whole work day, and into the evening. My wife tells me I’m in a noticeably better mood when I get home at the end of a long day on days when I’m up around 5. I know I get a lot more done at work, and I feel generally better about my day, my achievements, and myself on those days.
The biggest trick to making a success out of this, was simply getting over the fact that I was up early. Stop thinking about it, stop dwelling on it. If I thought about it too much, it would start weighing me down, causing me to convince myself that I was tired. So, of course, I’d dose up on caffeine, which, at best, gives the illusion of helping.
Now, I’m not suggesting that what holds true for me will hold true for everyone. We’re all unique (even if we’re not unique and beautiful snowflakes), and what works for me might work for you.
But it might.
And you wont know unless you try it. You don’t have to commit to it indefinitely, but why not give it a go next week?
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Love your new blog. Keep it up!
Tina
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As I reply to this, it's 5:13AM on a Monday morning.
I agree - the world is such an interesting place, it's hard to turn it (well, yourself) off for a few hours, to sleep. The thing to realise is that it will still be there in the morning.
Thanks for your comment, and, as a side note, for your blog as well.
Andrew
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