Early Bird

Usually 10am is the time I start work. Or on days that I don't have to work, it's when I am still asleep with the sun on my rear end. But today, a Sunday, I have already completed this blog post and an article before 10am. Thanks to waking up early at 6am.

Today was the first morning I put my Wake Up Early habit into test run (read here about how I created the plan). I actually woke up before the first alarm went off, without needing to shake of grogginess or a reward to pull me off my bed.

However last night was a different story. I went to bed at 10.30pm, but only fell asleep after 1 am. I guess it’s because it’s the Chinese New Year break, and having rested enough for so many days, I wasn’t at all tired.

Yes, so some people say to get up and do something if we can’t fall asleep after 10mins. But I chose to stay on and focus on relaxing my body. After all, my motive for going to bed early also includes giving my physical self a good rest. If I got up, I’d sure be indulging the mind in too many thinking stuff again.

But it wasn’t easy. My feelings cycled between boredom, impatience, and anxiety. Yet I could always release them with reminders:
Boredom: This is good relaxation practice which benefits my body and mind.
Impatience: What am I rushing to do next? The only agenda for the night is rest.
Anxiety: All I need to do is just to show up for this practice. No need to sleep.

Finally, of course I slept. It’s only four hours of course, but I actually woke up feeling refreshed. I’d probably feel tired in the afternoon. A 20 mins nap would alleviate that.

It’s a good start. The body, having being used to sleeping after midnight would surely be confused when I start resting at 10. But I know with the right mindset, I can make this work.

And I gained something this morning: productivity! I have finished doing some laundry, yoga exercises, a 40-min long meditation and now this post. Like consistency, productivity also happens, and cannot be made to happen. It’s amazing to see how one seed intention (waking up early) can awaken one quality after another.

Related Articles:
The Soul Aspects of Creating a Habit: Waking Up Early Purposefully