The habit that I’m working on is
getting up early in the morning. I like being up early. The hard part is
breaking through my resistance to stay in bed just a little longer.
For much of my life, getting up
early was the norm. I felt out-of-sorts if I stayed in bed very late in the
morning. It was almost a moral issue for me, like I was somehow lazy if I slept
in.
In trying to relax my compulsive
need to get up early, I went too far the other way.
And I developed some unhealthy
habits during periods of depression. It’s easier to stay in bed when you don’t
feel like you have anything to get up for. When the day seems like it’s going
to be one more bad day, why hurry into it? Why not delay it just a little
longer?
***
The thing is, I can get up early
when there’s something work related that I have to be up for. And I like being
up early, when the air is fresher and the birds are singing and not many others
are out and about.
Getting up early is a good habit
for me. The earlier I get up, the more time I have for some of the things that
I’ve been putting off: writing and exercising, for example. It’s harder for me
to be active in the evenings because I’m more tired then.
I’m not talking about not getting
proper rest. I’m talking about getting enough sleep but timing it so I get up
before the sun is very high in the sky.
***
Sunday night, I set the alarm
clock for 6 a.m. That’s the time that seemed right and doable. I’ve been aiming
for it off and on for months, with no luck.
Monday morning, I woke up when the
alarm, set to the local NPR station, went off.
And I made that mistake: I pushed
the snooze button.
I’ve done that many a time without
thinking. I’ve just automatically pushed it. But I did it intentionally this
time. I thought I’d push it just once and then get up at 6:11.
I finally got up at 7:16. I was
disappointed in myself. I know better than to push that snooze button for one
more bit of sleep, just one more. But I had done it anyway.
On the other hand, I was up
earlier than I had been in a few days. And I decided that I would take time to
go on a short walk, up to the end of my street and back home. It’s just
six-tenths of a mile, but it’s enough to get me moving and outside, with the
air as cool as it’s going to be all day.
Monday night, I set the alarm for
7 a.m. I thought it was more probable I would get up at 7 than 6.
I’m sorry to say, I pushed the
snooze button again and got up even later.
***
So I’m a work in progress. But I’m
still trying.
And I’m thinking about the fact
that I can get up when I have an early court case to cover or an early
interview. Maybe I need to start thinking of other activities—like exercise,
like my own writing, like meditation—as just as important as a work assignment.
Do you push the snooze button? If
not, how do you keep yourself from doing it?
I do not have a alarm set in our room My Hero is up at 4:30 every morning like clockwork and I am up most days at 6 some habits never leave pick a time it will be yours if your lucky it will be between the good one and the bad one:). I wonder if we come with one already programmed in our head when we finally hit it it sticks forever like it or not:) Hug B
ReplyDeleteI LOVE mornings so I may not be able to give impartial opinions here lol. I am always up at 5:30-ish through the week and around 6:30 on weekends. I hate missing a sunrise. I love the mornings because of the quiet calmness. And of course coffee helps a ton :)
ReplyDeleteif i didn't have dogs bouncing around and horses waiting to be fed (along with whistling ducks singing outside my window), i'd definitely sleep in longer. the animals keep me accountable to a schedule. they are my alarm(s).
ReplyDeleteThis is WAY weird. When I was working, I had to be there by 9. I'd get up at 8 (or a little later) and fly. And I wasn't ready to get up then. NOW I'm usually up at 7:30 (except this morning, when a thunderstorm kept me awake for two hours!). I'm liking that quiet time!
ReplyDeletei like getting up early as well, but most of the time i sleep in!! i think mornings are the best part of the day...the time before the world wakes up. i got up early 5:30 - 6 am, my entire life because i had to. now i don't so i do sleep in. i am very lucky, no alarm clock and i rise and shine, whenever i want to!!!
ReplyDeleteI have never been a snooze button person. But I do set the alarm to country music, which I hate, which gets me out of bed early to turn it off! Once I'm up, I'm up (my alarm is far enough from my bed that I have to get out of bed to turn it off). I know I'm not likely to go back to sleep once I've been up.
ReplyDeleteI find the older I get, the earlier I wake up. But like you, I like getting up early, so no complaints. I've never used the snooze button. Usually once I'm up, I'm up.
ReplyDeleteUnless I tell myself that I have to get up to exercise - no excuses - I'll stay in bed as long as possible. But my work schedule means 6 is tha latest I can laze around. On weekends, I usually stay in bed until 7 - that's a good compromise for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm a morning person, so I don't usually need an alarm, unless something important is happening that day very early. The older I get, the earlier I get up..and also the harder it is to get enough sleep.
ReplyDeleteI usually don't set my alarm unless there is a specific place to be early, 7:00 AM is the usual time I wake up, but there are times that I turn over and go back to sleep and then I feel I have wasted a morning!
ReplyDeleteI have an awesome alarm clock. About 30 minutes before the alarm, a light gradually comes on, softly at first, then getting brighter. If I am still asleep when it's time for the alarm, then sounds come on (I choose birdsong). I don't need the clock often, especially in the summer when the sun comes up crazy early here, but when I do, I always wake up happy and alert. I never had that experience with a traditional clock.
ReplyDelete