6:00AM – every morning except on weekends (Sat. & Sun.) I am woken at this time to start my day. I started this habit my sophomore year of college, in order to have some alone time, it also helped that I hated the idea of getting up when my least favorite roommate at the time was about. My initial motive for getting up at that insanely early hour was to have some alone time in the apartment, and it helped me make sure I had everything done for my upcoming 8:30am class. My desire for “alone time” outweighed my need for sleep because I started going to sleep around 10:00pm.
At first, I was hardly motivated to crawl out of bed, but I didn’t want to wake my roommate so I couldn’t hit the snooze button. Then, as time went by, I realized how much extra time I had in the morning and started getting homework done, and even picked up yoga. Now, I bike from 7am to 8am to start the day, read or write or do homework until class starts (around 10am or 11am). I was motivated at first just to get up, then that changed once I adjusted my sleep cycle so that the need for sleep would be less than my desire to be active. This behavior was beneficial in several ways; I get to bike on campus when it is empty but still light out, I get time to myself, and I can get whatever work I need done so I don’t have to stress about it during the night. This regiment also helped me adapt other habits (such as set times for eating) that overall enhanced my day. My old and less than desirable behaviors were extinguished.
My drive to get up was to avoid a roommate that I didn’t get along with, she has long since vanished from my life and I’ve gotten along fine with my roommates since, however after seeing the benefits of getting up so early I continue the behavior.
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I enjoyed reading your post about your motivation. I wish that I was able to get up that early without dreading it. During the summer I have to get up really early and work, then im out by 2. Most of my friends are just waking up by that time. I feel acomplished that I worked 7 hours and made money while some people havent even started there day and then I have the rest of mine to enjoy. So I completely understand the motivation to get everything done with before time (even an early time). Good for you and hope you stick with it... I dont have motivation anymore without work haha
ReplyDeleteThat is a great thing that you changed your sleep pattern. On top of avoiding your roommate, you were also able to accomplish alot more during the day, I wish I could do the same. It is very hard for me to motivate myself to wake up when I do not have work/class until 12:30. Therefore, I waste a quarter of the day, when I could get things done. Maybe I should find a roommate I want to avoid to keep me from sleeping the whole morning! :)
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