Challenge Recap
We kicked of the first month of Project UrbanSimplify with a challenge to establish a consistent wake up time of 7 AM. Now, I am not an early bird and waking up at 7AM was extremely difficult. The alarm would sound and I would ignore it. Daniel would tap me on the shoulder before getting out of bed, and I would ignore him. “I win this one… again”, he would tell me, and despite being competitive, I would continue to ignore him. I would continue sleeping until Daniel would bring a drooly snot-face toddler into bed; the little one is hard to ignore because he plants really wet, really gross open mouth kisses on my face and won’t stop with his “Mama, blanket off. Mama, wake up”, until I get out of bed.
At the end of week two, I was lagging behind in the challenge; the score: Daniel 10, Emily 4. There was no way for me to catch up, but I fared better in week three; my body began to adjust to the wake-up time we set. Daniel consistently woke up at 7AM; I did it four out of the five days. The final score: Daniel 15, Emily 8. Daniel wins the January challenge.
Though the January challenge is now over, I am still committed to waking up at 7AM on weekdays. I want to be up before the baby bugle call to carve out some time for myself, even if it’s just five to ten minutes. It gives me enough time to find my bearings so I do not need to rush in the mornings. I don’t stress about missing the bus to work and get to the office at my desired time. This way, I get to organize my day and make to-do lists before beginning work. The stress-free organized start to a day can only be achieved by establishing and adhering to a morning routine.
The Benefits of Routine
A routine is a sequence of actions regularly followed to complete a greater task at hand. There can often be a negative connotation associated with routines; they’re considered boring, mundane and can result in mindless actions. Some may even argue that routines stunt creativity and imagination because of the repetition and prescriptive steps.
This couldn’t be further than reality. Again, I turn to my current favourite book Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey for insight. The book compiles hundreds of routines of famous writers, painters, composers, philosophers. The painter, Francis Bacon, for example, was a creature of habit and followed the same routine for most of his life. He woke early to work, painting until noon after which he would spend the afternoon carousing with friends. Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, followed a strict regiment of waking up at 4AM, working 5-6 six hours, exercising and running errands in the afternoon and promptly retiring to bed at 9PM. The activities vary from person to person, but the similarity is clear: a daily rigid schedule maximizes productivity.
Following routines won’t make geniuses of us all; the 5th symphony will not arise from a daily morning bath nor will taking a walk at 4PM result in inspiration for the next great dystopian young adult trilogy… But it could. I do believe that routine is necessary for productivity and creativity because it accomplishes two things:
1. Eliminates decision-making. Routines remove the need to make decisions and reduce the time wasted on deliberating. When should I wake up? What should I eat for breakfast? When do I make breakfast? Setting a routine provides a guide to answering those questions.
2. Makes actions automatic. Routines allow for the brain to be put on auto-pilot during the functional activities such as waking up and getting ready for work. You don’t need to waste energy on figuring out what needs to be done next. Automating tasks eliminates distractions and improves efficiency which, in turn, allow the time to be better spent elsewhere.
The Last Word
January’s routine challenge was our first attempt at simplifying our lives this year. We intend on continuing with the established wake-up time as it removes unnecessary moments of panic. I find that rushing in the mornings sets a negative start to the day and I’m left feeling unprepared and disoriented. As the year progresses, I also intend to introduce additional routines, such as end-of-day clean-up and bedtime. Setting routines eliminates the need to be deliberate and automates certain tasks for efficiency; this frees us from avoidable stress and frees up energy and time for awesomeness.
Do you find the earlier wake-up has increase productivity? Do you find routine to be beneficial?
I tend to always wake up early or on a routine. BF is up by 5 a.m. – 6 a.m. .. and I don’t know if it’s my body preparing me for sleep deprivation but I have been waking up at 4 a.m., 5 a.m. …. even though I am in bed by 10 p.m. at the LATEST.
Then again I have also been napping at noon but I figure this will be a good thing once the baby is out (catch sleep when you can)…
I think I would be able to wake up earlier if I could slot in a nap. I do love naps. Many of the artists described in the book I mention take a nap.
I think the key to an early bird is the early bedtime- like yours, but I, for the life of me, cannot bring myself to sleep earlier than 11. I’m working very hard on it.
Too bad sleep isn’t retroactive- like, sleep lots now will guarantee energy later. But do sleep as much as you can! Even if your baby is a great sleeper, those little buggers are tiring!
I am a morning person, so this might be different, but I’ve been waking up early for 5 or 6 years now, and I would say it’s crucial, especially for moms. This is my time to work (I work from home) pray, read the Bible and do whatever else I need to do to fill ME up so I can have more to give to others throughout the day. Getting up early has been one of the most beneficial decisions I’ve made in my lifetime. Sounds dramatic, I know, but it really helps me to set the day on a peaceful and focused perspective.
What you describe is exactly how I want my mornings to be. A time to meditate on scripture and pray so I can start my day affirmed and renewed to then encourage others. But, I am not a morning person. I work best in the evenings/early night and I find that if I start, it’s hard to tear me away which results in late bedtime and late wake-up. Now, while that worked in my “younger days”, as a mom with an early bird toddler, it’s detrimental to my health (okay, now I’m being a bit dramatic). I will have to work harder at establishing the bedtime/wake-up routines.
I think the regularity of an early wake up will eventually move you to go to bed earlier – to get the amount of sleep your body needs without being tired. Sadly, 7am is a sleep in for me, so 5am some mornings (for a run) or 6am on normal work mornings, and weekends are all over – sometimes 5am, then back to bed post work out, sometimes 9am!!
Good work on starting the routine, I love routines! Always looking for more :p
It’s been about a four weeks since I started the morning routine, and the last three days, I woke up around 7Am without any problem! The earlier bedtime helps enormously!
I love this post, I remember those gross wet juicy kisses I use to get from my daughter when she was a baby. You love them and hate them at the same time. I am in the military so I am now accustomed to getting up early. Trust me you will be surprised at how much you can get done before the world wakes up….good luck.