It’s hard to get up at 5am.
Even after 15 days, I’m still bitter when the alarm clock goes off. I always contemplate going back to bed. But I still get up with the alarm and walk across the room to turn it off. I splash water on my face, do 5 jumping jacks and settle in to write.
I remind myself in my groggy haze that I only need to get through those first 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, I find my groove and my spark.
I’m beyond amazed at what I’m able to produce in the early morning hours. It’s borderline miraculous. I’m focused and energetic and my mind is clear. I finish with a sense of excitement and accomplishment and it sets a positive tone for the rest of the day.
A dentist, a cold and a lost voice
Unfortunately (although not surprisingly), I’ve encountered a few setbacks.
I got a tooth extracted on Friday, March 10. I spent the afternoon in some pain, very foggy, and extremely tired. That night I slept for 14 hours straight.
On Sunday, we turned our clocks forward an hour for Daylight Savings. I was so anxious about the time change that I kept waking up in the middle of the night. I finally got up at 2am, wrote for 90 minutes, and went back to bed.
The next morning, I got sick. I had no voice. My sinuses flared up. I couldn’t sleep. Again, I got out of bed at 2am to write, and went back to bed a few hours later.
The day after that, I felt even worse. I was cranky and exhausted, so I turned my alarm off and slept.
I still wrote every day, just not always at 5am. And as disappointing as it was to break the routine, I had to listen to my body. When I’m under the weather, I need 10-11 hours of sleep. It’s how I heal.
I can still be an early riser and get 7.5-8 hours of sleep. I did it last night and I plan to do it again, every day, for the rest of the month. It shouldn’t be hard, so long as I continue to be disciplined about going to bed early, falling asleep quickly, and staying asleep… so that I can wake up feeling awesome.
