If you’re trying to start a new business, apply for a new job while you have a job, or start a new project, you might be wondering where you could possibly fit it into your schedule.
In college, I found a correlation between waking up earlier and productivity. I’d wake up at 7am (which in college life is like 4am), head to the dining hall with my laptop, and get a good two hours of work done before the dorm got loud. Then I could spend more of the evenings enjoying time with my friends.
These days, I have to commute to work, which I really don’t enjoy. I still wake up around 7, but I lay there until around 7:45, hoping that if I leave a little later, I’ll miss the worst of rush hour. By the time I get home from work and eat dinner, I’m be so drained that just watch TV. And since much of the weekend is devoted to getting the errands done, this leaves very little time to work on any sort of new company idea.
I have tried for a couple months to wake up early (at 7), but it never really worked out. I was very groggy throughout the day, and it was hard to focus on my work. Then I found Steve Pavlina’s How to Become an Early Riser post and Zen Habits’ 10 Benefits of Rising Early and How to Do It, which helped to shift my strategy...
In college, I found a correlation between waking up earlier and productivity. I’d wake up at 7am (which in college life is like 4am), head to the dining hall with my laptop, and get a good two hours of work done before the dorm got loud. Then I could spend more of the evenings enjoying time with my friends.
These days, I have to commute to work, which I really don’t enjoy. I still wake up around 7, but I lay there until around 7:45, hoping that if I leave a little later, I’ll miss the worst of rush hour. By the time I get home from work and eat dinner, I’m be so drained that just watch TV. And since much of the weekend is devoted to getting the errands done, this leaves very little time to work on any sort of new company idea.
I have tried for a couple months to wake up early (at 7), but it never really worked out. I was very groggy throughout the day, and it was hard to focus on my work. Then I found Steve Pavlina’s How to Become an Early Riser post and Zen Habits’ 10 Benefits of Rising Early and How to Do It, which helped to shift my strategy...
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Comments: 4
I feel like how I wake up and handle my morning routine can change my impression of my entire day, which is basically like changing my life. Still knowing that it is hard to be disciplined. Especially now in winter, the bed is so warm and the room is so cold....
Have you ever heard about these watch alarm clocks that read your pulse and wake you up at the right time in your sleep cycle?
And I agree, it's harder to wake up early in the winter. It not only the cold, it's that it's still completely dark out. Now that I've gotten used to getting up at 6am every single morning, I often wake up right before the alarm goes off, and my first thought is "Oh goody, must still be the middle of the night, time to fall back asleep," and then alarm replies, "BEEP BEEP BEEP." Oh well.
I have a solution for the weekends... even though I stay out late, I still get up at 6am. I have breakfast, check my email, watch the news, relaxing stuff. And then I go back to sleep for another couple hours if I feel that droopy feeling in my eyes. As long as I maintain the habit of waking up at 6am no matter what, I don't feel guilty for a long weekend nap every now and then.
As a result, I've been incredibly productive in the mornings and am sleeping much sounder through the night ... which helps me get up at 6 am! It's the best kind of vicious circle!!