I made it to Day 3 of my 100 Day Blog Challenge! (and the crowd goes wild!)
After my monster post yesterday, I think this one will be shorter. Today's post:
My Morning Decision
So...I've made an incredibly unpopular decision with the productivity crowd. I've decided to stop trying to get up at 5 AM. I'm turning in my membership to the 5 AM club and I'm sleeping in.
Now, don't get me wrong. I understand the concept. There are multiple reasons to get up early. One of the main reasons is to get moving and attack important tasks, whether it's work, a passion project or your morning routine, before others are up and needing your attention/time. I get it. Early mornings are the only time some people have. Another is avoiding all the morning bias about the early bird getting the worm and all that.
But mostly it's the former reason. I don't really have that issue.
I get up well before I need to leave to go pick up my grandson for the day. I spend time getting my thoughts in order. I consider that my "early." It's not 5 AM.
Here's the thing. Since August, I've been getting up at 5 AM and working late to get in all my words and edits. I ended up exhausted. Something had to give. And it ended up being mornings. They weren't that productive for me; I was too tired. I got most of my work accomplished in the evenings. I still do.
So...I made the decision to sleep.
Don't misunderstand me. I'm not complaining here, and I'm not making excuses. What I'm saying is:
Figure out what works for you
That's what I had to do, figure out what works for me. Full disclosure: I LIKE mornings. I love sitting around with a cup of coffee and slowly getting myself in gear. But does it work for me?
Turns out, there's science to this whole thing. Read on to find out what it is.
I would encourage you to look at your chronotype. "Chronotype is the natural inclination of your body to sleep at a certain time, or what most people understand as being an early bird versus a night owl. [...] Sleep chronotype is closely related to circadian rhythm, which controls the day-to-day sleep-wake cycle and releases melatonin in response to environmental cues such as light and temperature." [Quote from the Sleep Foundation]
The article goes on to say that a night owl can be trained to be an early riser but that doesn't mean they'll be productive in the morning. They may not be productive until much later in the day. That sounds kind of familiar to me.
It's not really your fault or your choice because your predisposition to days of nights is genetically determined from birth.
What???
DING DING DING!!!! And suddenly, I understand myself a lot better!
Do you want to know what you are? You can take a test to learn your type here. You can also watch a video about it here to learn more.
By taking the quiz, I learned something that I already knew. I am neither a morning lark nor a night owl, but I lean closer to moderately morning type than evening type. It does explain why I like mornings and also why I don't feel productive then. (Strangely, I made my decision to stop doing early mornings before I learned any of this, but I feel so much better about it now. Vindicated, even).
Anyhoo. Have you been guilting yourself about not being part of the 5AM Club? Maybe, you're just not built for it.
What Am I Up To Today?
I'm staying in and staying out of the snow. We're still under a winter storm warning and we got a ton of snow since yesterday morning. It's not stopping until sometime Sunday. Maybe.
I'm planning to back some cookies or muffins. I'm in a baking mood. On top of that, I'm deep into writing some Daly Way. I'm so excited to dive into this story again today.
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