I’m not a morning person, yet I’ve been up for an hour now and it’s only 6:30am. I would much prefer staying up until 2 or 3am and then sleeping until I wake up to the smell of coffee and bacon wafting through the house. Unfortunately, that is not going to happen. Now in order to be productive, I must set my alarm to 5am so I can journal, use the bathroom, neti, brush my teeth, meditate, blog, put on coffee, do dishes, cook breakfast, stretch and check social media before my little one wakes up and demands my attention.
I have contemplated and even attempted to use the time after he goes to bed to do many of those things but it’s just not the same. By the time the evening rolls around I’m doing mobility in front of the tv. In order to have solitary time I would have to wait until my wife falls asleep and then there is simply no fuel left in the tank. Also the dark hours at the end of the day is when the cravings start. If I am left alone in the middle of the night it’s all too tempting to make grilled cheese sandwiches and raid the cupboard for snacks.
After years of fighting it, I am convinced that there is something worthwhile to waking up before the Sun. My body and mind fight me every day but I winning the battle so far. I don’t know that I will ever be a “morning person,” but I am content to be getting things done. The momentum created by being productive first thing in the morning is tremendous and the reward for waking up. I see now why so many people do it even though it would seem preferable to sleep.