During my month without alcohol I’ve been trying hard, really hard to form some new habits.
At the beginning of the month I decided to think less about the booze and more about two things – exercise and writing.
As the month progressed I started to learn more about the use of habits as a tool for achieving stuff – in this process I realised that the morning, early morning could be a very useful time to embed some new habits.
Only problem with that is that I don’t particularly enjoy getting up early in the morning.
A lark I am not.
Anyway…
Somehow I managed to be up and on the go by 630am each morning – but to my disappointment I realised it still wasn’t quite enough time.
So, this week my walking buddy Sue and I decided to give 6am a go.
And for the first two days I really struggled.
Just last night in fact I admitted defeat. Well, kind of. I sent Sue a very logical email about sick kids yahda yahda yahda and couldn’t get up so early. True – but in hindsight an excuse.
Fortunately Sue didn’t get the message – or, at least didn’t respond.
So I dutifully got up just before 6 and trotted out to the back gate. There my faithful walking buddy was getting ready for the day’s exercise / sanity break / kickstarter. We noticed that this morning was a little easier to face the 6am. Ah ha ! The body clock is actually changing.
And a good thing. I actually love this time of day. And not only do I get my exercise fix in early meaning that it WILL happen before the rest of my schedule gets in the way, I also get some time to write before little eyes peel open.
So, we’re going to do it again tomorrow. And I think with just a little more practice i might just be able to knock off another half hour and join the early morning walking tribe, let’s see how that one goes.
The book I’ve been reading is “Better Than BEfore: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives” by Gretchen Rubin
Gretchen writes about mastering ‘foundation’ habits including:
Sleep
Moving
Eating and drinking right
Uncluttering
And I must say I notice that just that half hour in the morning is making all of the above work so much better. Even the uncluttering is something I’m actually feeling myself drawn to as my mind feels less cluttered.
How about you, are you a ‘lark’ or an ‘owl’ ?? What do you think about changing your waking habits???
Oh – PS want to join me for a free Facebook group to cultivate some new habits? Join up HERE
