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It’s 5:20am and I’m running late!

Once upon a time, I took great pride in my ability to sleep ALL DAY!  Deadly sin. Biblical levels of do nothingness.

So, what happened?  Why does the alarm go off at 4:30 am instead of 4:30 am being bedtime?

Reason #1 – kids. While I refused to be their alarm clocks after 6th grade, I would do short order breakfast cook and as they became serious about athletic performance cook took on new responsibilities for high protein, complex carbs, “good” fats meals to go.

Reason #2 – Writing. The force is strong – vampire not Star Wars. Writing into the wee hours FEELS like “real writing” and a shit ton of authors function this way. I think it’s the silent darkness. But ya know what?  It’s the same silence and darkness if you wake at 4:30 as if you stay up until 4:30.  Like it or not, productivity is HIGH before the sun comes up.

My mom always thought I was “just lazy.” And there is a high lazy factor involved here. We are self-aware around here. And I don’t want to imply day sleepers are less high functioning, because I did get things done, but maybe not the most efficiently and missed a lot of sunrises. Have you seen these things?  We get killers here in the Texas Panhandle.

There are lists all over the web and books to support the getting up early habit.  Here’s mine.

  • Quiet time. Meditation & journaling (Big Goals, Daily/Weekly/Monthly intentions, Gratitude) Writing them down gives them substance. That grocery list in our head  – where we always forget the milk??  Same thing, if it’s not written down we will forget something.  Meditation calms. It works!  I can’t do more than 5 minutes before the thought squirrels run through, but practice makes perfect. FYI – meditation is not prayer. Prayer is talking to God. Meditation is listening.
  • Exercise. We know we need to do it, right?  Get up. Get it done. And that sword of guilt isn’t hanging over us all day, so much so that by evening, when we are tired and just want to chill with the family we resent this necessity of self care.  I love evening walks with Stella. Lots of good thinking happens there, but that’s like the bonus material during the movie credits.
  • Mental sharpness. By the time the rest of the world is up and moving. My mind is wide awake and ready to work. I’ve thought about yesterday’s plot issues. Dr appts, garden needs, teaching jobs – I’m not late anymore.
  • Domestic goddess chores. DONE!  Audio books and kicking the rooster in the ass means I have the WHOLE day to myself and clean clothes & a tidy kitchen!

Not every day is a slayer day, but most are and those keep the alarm at 4:30..even when I hit snooze until 5:20 like today.

Check out this short video on the benefits of waking up early.

Do you have an extra 15 minutes in the morning to invest?

How do you slay the day?