early to rise
Source: Canadian Living, photo contest. Can’t find photographer anymore!
Look at that cat. That is how I feel this morning. I’ve been trying to follow Dave Navarro’s advice in his series on getting up early so I can be more productive and efficient and all kinds of other great things for my business. Yesterday it went all right, and I really did love the surprise of how much more time I had, what a better mood I was in, and how much I got done. But last night I didn’t sleep well for various reasons, which is not unusual by any means, not least because of a certain someone sleeping noisily beside me. I adore this certain someone, and though I rage with murderous thoughts through the night, I keep my hands to myself. I don’t punch him in the ribs or plug his nose or press his pillow over his head. But I also refuse to sleep elsewhere. I just don’t want to be that couple that has separate bedrooms, like my parents. We’re only in our thirties, for shit’s sake.
Still, I forced myself to get up at 7:30 or so. I know, for people like Brett, that’s about three hours too late. But it’s at least one hour earlier than usual for me. I hope to eventually regularly get up at about 6 (right now that makes me cringe), and that’s my earliest. Anything before that is simply not morning to me. The trick now is how to actually be awake while I’m sitting here, alert enough to perhaps write and then get to work on the manuscript in front of me. Going to bed earlier will likely help. (But first I have to kick the habit of working till I can’t see anymore and that will come with becoming more productive and efficient during the day.) Since applying fung shui to my office, I’ve found an uncanny ability to better focus during the day, which is great, though I haven’t perfected that yet. I’ve made further changes to my diet, which have drastically helped. I’ve been surfing and reading sites with tips for successful freelancing and for creating good habits, which is how I came across Navarro, whose site I strongly recommend.
But I suspect there will be days like today along the way and I can’t be too hard on myself or I’ll end up giving up before I’ve told the quitter in me to fuck off. At first I had an overwhelming sense of guilt about rising so late this morning, and I very nearly told myself this just wasn’t going to work, but it is only my third day trying and they say it usually takes about a month to establish a new habit (and break an old one, I suppose. Dave has a good article about kicking bad habits, too).
When I look at my list of things I’m doing to revitalize my business, I’m conscious of the fact that improving only one aspect of yourself can’t help but have a snowball effect. All of the good habits I form have many benefits, and all of them are interconnected to help me achieve what I want, not least of all a positive attitude and a successful freelancing career.
Hmmm. And now I don’t feel like that cat above anymore. I’m ready to take on my day — and it’s before noon!
Filed under: freelancing | 26 Comments
Steph –
Thanks for all the links
Glad to know that my tips are working for you –
Dave
Hi Dave! No trouble. And it’s I who should be thanking you.
Steph
I’m one of the last hold-outs. I refuse to be assimilated by the Borg and get up early…it’s just not within my DNA to be a Morning Person
(Present company excepted), I feel there is a bit of smugness with some of these morning people.
Listening to them, you’d think the ONLY time it’s possible to accomplish things is in the wee hours before the sun comes up, before your workday starts.
And if only the rest of us get off our asses and stop staying up to watch Letterman..then we’d be able to be productive members of society too.
What people fail to mention is that morning people tend to fade quickly at sunset. And they’re in their jammies around 9:00-10:00 PM
…that’s when we night owls are just starting to get going! We have our creative quiet time too..it’s just at a different time of day.
@Friar: I understand and hear you! Please don’t feel you’re being judged. Even Dave says there are exceptions to the rule. You are one of them. Tei also gets a great deal of her stuff done in the wee hours, she said in her post today. Lots of people are quite productive at night. I used to work out at night, too, rather than early morning. By then my body was more limber and flexible, I found. And I had the energy. Also, if you work a normal job rather than from home, I’m not sure it’s that necessary to wake up earlier. My hubby’s alarm goes off at 6 for work. He stays up late to do his own thing rather than doing it at 4 or 5 am. That’s just what he prefers and how he unwinds before bed.
I was more of a night owl for a long time. But lately I just find myself unable to handle very late nights anymore. When I was a kid I used to barf the next day if I stayed up late (so every Christmas after watching The Sound of Music…). What bothers me more is my terrible time management skills here at home. Freelancing is for the disciplined, or the people who can be disciplined. Because I’m not really, I chase my day till it’s over, wondering where the time went. I’m always scrambling near the deadline because I wasted so much time during the day. Then I stay up way too late to make up for it. And when I don’t start working until 10 am and then I have all these interruptions, including my dog and my hubby, during the afternoon, and then I have to be in bed by around 10:30 or I feel like shit…well, something has to be done or I’ll never get this biz off the ground. The natural solution is to try and wake up earlier, to gain more time. Maybe I can waste from 6-8 and then start working, still two hours before I normally start! Or, better yet, I start working right away and have the entire evening off, from 4:30 on. I like that idea!
Sometimes I wish we didnt’ have to sleep. Just think of what we could accomplish.
But then again, the managers would increase the work day to 17 hours, and we’d be no further ahead.
Hmmm, yeah. That would totally suck. But then we’d all get wise and start our own businesses.
You sound like my hubby: he says sleep’s a waste of time and if we didn’t need it, he could do so much more!
Ahh, ahhhhh, ahhhhhhhhhh, AHHHHHHH-CHOOOOOOOOO!!!
Geez, is there a cat around here somewhere?
There sure is, buster, and he doesn’t look like he cares about your allergies!!
C’mon, my hubby’s allergic too and this is the only way I can have one!
Steph
You kittly looks pissed.
I hope he’s normally better-tempered than this photo indicates!
(laughing at your comment about 7:30 being 3 hours too late, which is just about right)
Resistance is futile, Friar, you will be assimilated…
just kidding.
Like Dave says – everyone is different. Best tool for the job.
My main point on all of this, is this – the early morning works for me, because I can give it my all when I’m fresh. By the end of a day at work “embracing the suck”, and then being dad and husband and so on, I don’t feel I’m at my best. Although some nights, I do good work.
Just in general – the mornings work best for me. Evenings work best for others. The main thing is – figure out what works for *you* and make it work.
@ Brett: That’s probably the big difference between you and Friar and others like him: you’re fresh in the morning, they’re not! They become fresh at night, like our flowers in the late evening when they get watered after a hot day.
As for me, I’m hoping it’ll become a learned thing. As I and my body get used to getting up at 6, we’ll transform from yawning, bleary-eyed hangdog to bright-eyed and bushy-tailed! I’m quite sure I’d rather have the evenings off. Just not this evening. I was TERRIBLE today and got almost no work done, so now I’m making up for it. Well, after this comment.
I think it also helps if you dont’ have to raise a litter of kids like poor Brett.
Parenty are always tired, and they always get up before the crack of dawn. Single guys like me can set our own hours, though.
There are two things that WILL get me up early, though. Going skiing, and going fishing!
Sniffles. I can’t even see in here anymore. Release the hounds!!
Yeah, Friar hit it right on the head – there’s no “unwinding” after work for a parent, at least not until bedtime (for the kids) and as the little turkeys grow, their bedtime gets closer to your bedtime!
The logical thing to do then is get up before they do!
I figure once they leave home, I’ll get lazy…
@bretthead: what do you mean? Actually, if there’s something screwy going on with this blog for you, I’m sorry. I don’t know what it is. It keeps putting me down with my old blog address suddenly, and the other day none of my comments showed up chez Friar. Blah.
@Brett: yes, I think that’s true about kids! Must be one of the reasons I don’t have any.
We were able to train Lucy to sleep in a little longer and just run on our schedule, thank God! Also, I highly doubt you’ll get lazy! Once they’re gone you’ll have all those good habits still, and you’ll be trying to figure out what to do with yourself and your time: spend time with the wife, write, run, gallivant in ghost towns, visit the Lusty Weevil, oh my!
@ Brett: 4:32 am??!!
@Steph
Oh, yeah. Brett at 4:32 AM. Dosent’ suprise me.
He’ll sometimes send me stuff after 11:30 PM as well.
@steph,
@Brett: but what time do you get to bed, then? Or are you naturally one of those people who needs little sleep?
Oho, Bill’s got you trained!
No tech problems. It’s that damn cat.
No man, there are tech problems!! GRRRRR.
I’m being treated as a visitor by WordPress to my own blog, and it’s pissing me off!
@steph,
I generally go to bed when I’m tired, which varies from (say) 9:30 to midnight. And yes, Bill has us trained. Furry little bugger!
@ Brett: Wow! That is not a lot of sleep. I’m in awe.
Sometimes Bill is a few fries short of a happy meal.
But nice cat, though.
Ahahaha! “Few fries short of a happy meal”! I’ve never heard that before! I’m stealing it.
I think it’s very funny and endearing when animals are that way.