30 Days of Waking Up at 5 AM – Day 5
4/25/2011 SU 5:00 AM Pacific Time
Lesson Learned: Be willing to pass on partying.
Waking at 5 AM this morning was easy but I paid a price. Last night at 9 PM, I chose to turn down an invitation to join my friends for beer pong at Q’s in Santa Monica. Fortunately, I’ve enjoyed avoiding alcohol for the past few weeks so skipping out was supported by more than my 5 AM goal. This reminds me of an article I read 4 years ago on T-Nation about 4 AM gym heroes saying no to social events and other common indulgences. Don’t worry; I don’t plan on limiting my life for the sake of 5 AM. Au contraire mon frère, 5 AM is part of my master plan to maximize my health, wealth and life experiences.
30 Days of Waking Up at 5 AM – Day 6
4/26/2011 SU 7:24 AM Pacific Time
Last night back-fired. The day was productive and I was excited to be logging 9 hour at work and leaving at 3:00 PM to get my oil changed. When I got home, I proceeded to video tape myself doing more ridiculous dancing which was arguably productive if we count it as my workout. But then I gave myself the night off and proceeded to dispose of it on Kongregate.com (if you too get caught, add me as a friend: gesta111). Enjoying my night would have been acceptable (though video games are somehow addicting and unsatisfying), but I ended up staying up until 11:30 which led to morning justification of sleeping until 7:24 AM. I should note that I woke at 5:00 AM, was as cold as I’d been when trying to fall asleep 6 hours earlier, and meditated for about ten minutes before letting myself go back to sleep.
Two Important Lessons Learned: The Night and The Morning
The Night:
I need to start thinking about bed earlier than usual and establish a simple routine. I’ll start by turning off the computer, putting on warm clothes, checking the heat, brushing my teeth, and getting in bed to read.
The Morning:
This is the part I’ve been denying myself because in all of my past attempts to establish a 5 AM routine I’ve focused too much on my morning schedule and end up being overwhelmed and not waking up until noon. I think I’m ready for a simple morning schedule. We can beef it up later. I’ll start by reiterating some of the original plan and adding a few open-ended pieces. Later, we can start having some fun with this. In the morning, I will jump out of bed to turn on the lights and turn off the alarm. I will dress warmly and go upstairs for water. I’ll return to my room with water, open the doors and blinds, and write. When I’m done writing I’ll have breakfast, shower and go to work. Wish me luck.
30 Days of Waking Up at 5 AM – Day 7
4/27/2011 SU 9:22 AM Pacific Time
So, maybe this should be called 30 Days of Trying to Wake Up at 5 AM; I over-shot 5 AM by more than 4 hours this morning. I knew this morning would be difficult, but I made a conscious choice to allow myself to spend yesterday evening with an old friend who is in town for a couple days. Unfortunately, I just cancelled plans tonight with another friend who I’m sure I would greatly emotionally benefit from seeing. This is a lot of event conflict and it’s only the middle of the week. I’m beginning to doubt my 5 AM resolutions; I need to establish a clear understanding of why I want a 5 AM habit and whether or not it aligns with my big picture goals.
30 Days of Waking Up at 5 AM
First: 30 Days of Waking Up at 5 AM – Day 1
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