I do not like to get up early. There is nothing about losing an hour of sleep that I find enjoyable.
However.
I’ve learned that when I do get up early, I’m more productive. I use that hour or so to knock out several tasks like responding to emails, writing a blog post, doing a load of laundry or anything else that I feel inspired to tackle. Getting those tasks out of the way early in the morning starts a sort of productivity snowball for the rest of the day and, by the time my child is in bed, I’m able to actually relax. I can watch Sons of Anarchy or something else without stress. I can read without that nagging “do this instead” feeling. I can go to sleep knowing that I got shit done.
Basically, I can breathe.
Which is why, for the month of November, I’m challenging myself–and you–to get up early. Not every day because that’s just crazy talk. But I’d like for us to agree to wake up early a few mornings per week and use that time to be productive. What you do during that time is up to you. I’ll mainly be working on my NaNoWriMo book. You can use that time to read blogs, paint your nails, exercise, work on a side gig, write that eBook you’ve been thinking about, put dinner in the crock put or just sit, meditate, and relish the silence.
It doesn’t really make a difference what you do. I just want us to use that time productively so we can lessen some of our daily burdens. We can stop saying “if I only had the time, I’d…” We can eliminate the excuses. We can take more control of our time and make it feel like we’ve added that extra hour to our day we always wish for.
It’s basically putting us in charge of our lives instead of the other way around.
So, if you’re going to participate, feel free to leave a comment, grab the button for your site, and tell everyone what you’re doing. If that’s not your style, you can choose to do it privately, too. I understand not wanting to talk about every detail of your life (because although I overshare here, I’m very private in real life). Regardless of which avenue you choose, I hope you’ll join the discussion on Facebook. We’ll be using that as our month-long support and accountability system.
See you in the morning!
Cool idea!
I can’t join in, but I hope other people do. First of all, chronic fatigue means I need every extra minute of sleep I can get. Also, I work over email from home. Getting up an hour early can sometimes lead to me getting my own stuff done. But as the holiday shoppers create a deluge of complaint emails, I’d have a hard time dealing with my email and blog. I’d just keep dreading the emails that were piling up. I’d end up just working an extra hour. Sigh.
That said, I do notice better productivity when I get up earlier. So I think people should definitely take the challenge. I’ll applaud you all from my bed!
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Thanks for the support! Getting up early isn’t for everyone and it certainly is difficult. But your circumstances are definitely extenuating so you get a pass 🙂
Am onboard on this one! I had actually started but I guess I was way too ambitious with my waking up time I was just ignoring the alarm, now though, am just going to start smaller, maybe start with half an hour and increase it gradually and hopefully rely on the support of other people doing it as well.
What do I wish to accomplish in that time, practice on my writing, do it professionally. Wish me luck 🙂
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Good luck, and I’m happy to have you joining us! I think you have a great strategy. Even in that half hour, you can get some extra work done and remember, every little bit helps!
I need to do this since I want to be this person who gets up early. I am going to aim for Tuesday, Thursday, Friday.
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My days are Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. Those are the days I go to the gym in the morning and it feels good to get some work done before I exercise. Mainly because I’m useless when I’m done.
Too funny…I am also doing the same thing! I have grand plans to go to sleep from 10-5:30 every night and here it is almost 11 and I haven’t even started getting ready for bed! I’m going in a minute, so either I’ll have to drink an extra cup of coffee in the morning or just try again on Thursday. 😉
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It’s okay to not succeed every day. We get 7 days a week to try and if we’re successful on even one of those, we’re still ahead of those who aren’t trying!
I’ve been waking up early to go for a jog/walk! I love getting my work out over with first thing in the morning.
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