There Are Two Ways to Begin Your Day - Only One Leads to Productivity
And it's up to you to decide which one to follow
I was never a morning person and never even tried because it was too hard for me to get out of bed early in the morning to work or exercise.
And I never regretted it because I had convinced myself that I was a night owl. I can stay up late and do the work, so there’s no need for me to get up early in the morning.
But then, I got married.
My husband is my exact opposite. I knew that before getting married because we were together for 8 years before tying the know, but it’s not until you start living together that you truly understand how much the difference in sleep cycle impacts your life.
So, by the time I would get out of bed on weekends at around 8 to 9 am, my husband would have exercised, bathed, eaten breakfast, and finished 1 hour of work.
And no matter how much I tried to catch up, he always worked more than me. It doesn’t matter how late I go to bed, he always wins. (We are competing about who writes more)
But I was too stubborn to accept that he was working more efficiently because he woke up early. How can I let go of years of thought process and accept defeat?
Finally, after struggling to cope with my work, I started getting up early, and it was not life-changing because I was still doing it wrong.
Setting the Scene
First, I would press snooze on my alarm 3 to 4 times before getting out of bed. That means, I already lost about half an hour of my time.
Then, I would cry and complain about how getting up this early sucks. And that means I have wasted another half hour.
Then I would start thinking about what I should do and that means another half hour wasted.
So, by the time I write one paragraph, it’s already late and I have to go to work.
At the same time, my husband, who woke up with me had finished an entire article.
If you’re going to do it, do it right. There’s no point in getting up early only to whine about how you have to get up early.
The Unproductive Route
There are a few things you should never do first thing in the morning like
Checking your phone.
Whining.
And planning.
Always plan your day the night before and get to work the moment you are out of bed.
If you start doing activities that hinder your productivity, it would have been better if you had caught up on sleep instead of getting up.
Information overload is a genuine problem and you should focus on keeping your mornings as simple as possible to achieve your goals.
The Productive Path
We’ve talked about what doesn’t work, but what works.
So far, the routine that’s worked for me is:
Get up and drink water.
Get to work.
That’s it. I don’t drink caffeine first thing in the morning and I don’t meditate or exercise. I write and then I do everything else because, for me, writing is my biggest task.
I also plan a night before. I have semi-written outlines for articles I want to write in the morning, and it works.
And this works for my husband as well, so it’ll work for you.
Always do the biggest task first thing in the morning and you’ll feel good throughout the day.
Conclusion
I still hate getting up in the morning, and sometimes I just sleep in.
I hate these slips here and there and to be honest, right now I only wake up 3-4 days out of 7. But I’m getting there and I am working on it, that matters.
You’re suddenly not going to turn into a morning person, you’ll hate it. And you’ll feel sleepy for the rest of the day.
But soon, your body adjusts to it and you start going to bed a little early and it works.
In the end, I want to say that there are two ways to begin your day. You can either
Whine out it and waste your time.
Get to work and efficiently use the time.
And you know which one is correct.