The Force Habitual, part 1

If you're considering climbing aboard the Fuck Yeah Early-Early Wake-up Time bandwagon, I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize that this practice is not for the faint of heart.  It is not a step one should take lightly, without due consideration for the consequences.

As self-serving as this may sound -- i.e., I am such A BAD-ASS for getting up at 4:30 every day -- that is not (entirely) my point.  Although yes, it's true: I am proud of myself for sticking with this commitment, with few exceptions, since December. That's right: I've been getting up at 4:30 in the morning, at least 5 days a week, for four months.

This is something I have been wanting for a long time, loony as this may strike you.  In college my favorite professor and mentor slept a mere 3-4 hours per night.  He would set a glass of ice on his desk before he went to bed; when he re-appeared at his desk a few hours later, a cool freshly-melted refreshment awaited and there he'd sit, in the wee hours, sipping and writing, writing and sipping, until it was time to go run in the woods with his dog. Since I idolized him (may he rest in eternal peace, in a celestial library replete with tomes in Russian, French, Armenian and English), naturally I have always aspired to his sleep-schedule.  I can't manage the 3-4 hours of sleep a night.  That's a deadly recipe.  But early to bed and early-early to rise: that I can pull off.

The benefits to me of this schedule have been enormous, so far.  The rewards have been insane.  But mostly, the best part for me is that, thanks to my FYE-E Wake-up Time, 

I am an inhabitant of my Most Favored Nation:

Have Cake AND Eat It.

That's right.  The whole thing just feels like great.  It's a gift that keeps on giving.  Like this:

- I have written more, improved my blog more, read more, and generally had a sense of having Enough Time more than I ever have in any period of comparable length in my entire adult life.  That benefit right there is HUGE.  I don't need to remind you of how long my entire adult life has been.  Let's just say it's been long.

- I put Me first.  I have, because I am up so early, generally had a solid four hours to myself, doing whatever I want to do before I even get to my job.  This works wonders for my flexibility throughout the day.  I am less crabby about giving up 8 hours of my time to the paid gig, gobbling up what would otherwise be a whole day, because, ha ha, I already snuck in a half-day of Whatever on my own.  By the time I get to my job, I've taken care of Me for a long time.  The rest of the day is gravy. 

- I don't have to do the old either/or, because there's enough time from 4:30 - 8:30, of either I exercise my brain (write, read, think, dream) or my body (hike, walk, stand around in the garden and stare).  

- And just coming back to writing for a second, because of my Fuck Yeah Early-Early, I am, for the first time in my life, really and truly a Writer.  Because that is what I devote myself to, every day, like clockwork, from the moment my little watch awakens me to whenever I hit my paid-desk.  It feels good to devote myself in this way.  I only regret (a smidge) that I didn't start sooner.

Which all sounds great, right?  Except probably, for some people, for the 4:30 start-time.  And it is all super-super great, really, I love it.  I went so far as to entertain the thought the other day that even if I didn't have a 40-hour/week job punctuating the weekdays, I would STILL get up at 4:30.  That's how much I love it.

I'm telling you, it's improved my life so much in ways I've been craving for years.  

Think about it.  Is there something in your life you really wish you had more time for, that you keep putting off, that you keep being too tired to tackle consistently at the end of the day?  Do you wish you had more You time?

Why not just set your alarm for an hour earlier and get on that something that's been lingering, unattended, hanging around in the corners of your mind for however long.  

Why not put yourself first every day, like clockwork?  

Think about.  Like I said, it's serious business, not to be undertaken lightly.  Stay tuned for Part 2 of The Force Habitual.  'Cause yeah, there's a down-side.  But I'm saving that til later.  In the meantime, really, give it some thought.  Maybe get up a little bit earlier just to try it on, test out what your Fuck Yeah Early-Early Wake-up might feel like.  

You never know: it might just be time.

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