It seems like the earlier I get up, the more frazzled I am before I leave the house. When I had a 45-minute walk to work, I got up at 6:30am and was out the door by 8am. I don’t remember it being terribly stressful. Now I have a ten minute walk and try to get up at 5:15am and out the door by 8:15am, but it’s a terrible scramble.
Granted, I have all sorts of things that I’ve added to the mix over the last little while. I try to meditate for ten minutes, I take the time to flat-iron my hair most mornings, I make sure to spend at least 15 minutes writing in my journal, the plants need to be watered and I usually tackle the dishes in the am. I’ve also become less and less good about putting out my clothes or packing my gym bag the night before. It’s a lot to cram in alongside showering, eating, Tweeting and all the other morning stuff I’ve done for years.
My goal with getting up earlier has always been to make my morning feel less chaotic. I want to write, I want to have a proper breakfast, I want to meditate and I know that if I leave things until the end of the day they will get pushed aside because I’m dragging myself in after a long day at work and the gym. When I promise myself that I’ll journal in the evening, well, that promise is always broken. Once I finally get home there is just so much else that needs doing and I’m exhausted.
But that’s part of the problem with getting up so early too. I am only getting about 6 hours of sleep at night. I try to get to bed earlier to compensate for the earlier wake-up, but it rarely happens. Sometimes it’s my own fault. Many of the shows I want to watch are on at ten, since we don’t have a PVR and downloading them can be frustrating I’ll usually stay up. Then it takes me awhile to fall asleep, so when the alarm goes off at 5:15am it feels like I just closed my eyes.
Not getting enough sleep is a major health no-no, but it’s hard to just turn off at 10pm. By the time I get home from the gym it’s often 7pm or later, so dinner is at 8pm and then I want to catch up on email, chores, reading and such. I also want to spend time with my husband. If he was personal training clients that night, he may not even get in the door until after ten. It’s nice to curl up and watch a show together or chat for awhile. But it’s exhausting.
And my long night turns into a frantic morning.
Any tips on how to ease the chaos?
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