This is my bed.
It has four sumptuous layers of pillows and a pillow-top mattress. Soft, smooth cotton sheets drown in piles of blankets (as many as four in wintertime: a light blanket, a quilt, a duvet, and a throw). You could probably get lost in it. At the very least, you can absolutely hide from kids in it.
My bed is probably in my top three favorite places to be, right between (1) laying in a patch of shade on a bright breezy beach and (3) picnicking in a field of green, green grass. So I’m sure you can imagine how hard it is for me to abandon that cozy nest at all. Much less on purpose, and before I absolutely have to.
But perhaps the only morning better for me than a sleeping-in morning, is one that is insanely productive. I love checking items off my to-do list–especially the important ones that usually fall by the wayside in my day-to-day life. Things like prayer, journaling, scripture study, and exercise. I usually try to get two out of four of those things done every day, but this week I found out that productivity guru Michael Hyatt does all four every single morning. By getting up early.
So I decided to try it.
Here’s how it went…
Day 0: Get ready for bed around 11pm. Set alarm for 6am the next morning. Set out workout clothes on nightstand–down to the socks and a hair tie. Super prepared.
Day 1: Alarm goes off at 6am! Press snooze. Throw iPad to other side of bed. Fall back to sleep. Wake up at 7. (Fail.) Go to bed around 11pm. Super prepared again.
Day 2: Alarm goes off at 6am. Snooze button. Sleep. Wake up at 7. Read a post (also from Michael Hyatt) about how to become a morning person. Resolve to try putting the alarm across the room so I have to get (waaaaay) out of bed to turn it off. Put out workout clothes. Go to bed around 11.
Day 3: Across the room, the alarm goes off at 6am. Get out of bed(!), turn my lights on(!), and turn off the alarm. Pray, journal, and read scriptures for 25 minutes! Get dressed in the workout clothes that have been out for several days! Do a 30 minute workout! (I am on Level 1 of Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred–I do it with the sound off so I can listen to a podcast.) Get kids started on their morning routine at 7am! Feel absolutely victorious!
Day 4: Get up on time again! Yes! Brag to the hubs when he gets home from a night shift and literally make him give me a high five! Stay up too late and decide to sleep until 7 the next morning. Set alarm accordingly.
When I woke up at 7 on Day 5, I was surprised to discover that I really missed my early morning time! It kind of gave me a high to get so much done before the rest of the house started to stir.
I haven’t totally decided whether I want to do this every day. I do have a soft spot in my heart for late nights watching movies on the couch with my sweetheart. So I may take Saturday and Sunday mornings “off” and sleep in a little later. But for the next few weeks I’m going to really go for a purposeful 6am wakeup call Monday through Friday. I’m curious to see how it goes.
What are your mornings like? Do you consider yourself a night-owl or an early-bird–or maybe you’ve found some happy medium? I’d love to hear your experiences.
I am so trying this!! I have never been a morning person either but getting my core, personally enriching items done early sounds glorious!
Even when I am not perfect about it I still notice a difference, too. Be forgiving and willing to keep trying–it’s a process. 🙂
I’m an in between person. My kids get up at 6:30 (boo) because we’re on the far eastern side of the pacific time zone and it is light at 5:00. So I can’t manage to get up before my kids. However. I have a nice morning routine that I do with them (mostly chores) where they feel like they are getting lots of love and attention and I am simultaneously getting work done. My one thing that I haven’t got the hang of in all these years is when to get dressed and ready for the day! I look like a slob.
Amanda, might I suggest you get ready while the kids eat breakfast? I LOVE using that time while they are still, engaged, and occupied to get something done kid-free. If you can’t leave them alone, you can always bring whatever you need to the kitchen table. Also, as far as choosing clothes, picking something out the night before lets you just jump in and go! 🙂 I love that you do chores WITH your kids!