Can I Become a Morning Person?
Should I even try?! Image via Shutterstock
I’ll be frank: Life feels chaotic af right now. I’m winding down my freelance projects, ramping up my HRH book work and prepping for the arrival of Baby #3. I’m frantically making to-do lists in an attempt to organize life.
One big-picture topic I keep coming back to is how I start and end my days. (Normal working hours for me, as a freelancer and a mom, feel at once wonderfully flexible and constantly chaotic, reliant on preschool schedules and babysitter availability... but that’s another topic for another day.) I have been thinking a lot about the windows of time first thing in the morning and late at night — and why, it seems, I have come to favor the latter.
You may have noticed that my Instagram posts often come late at night, often very late at night. Most weekday evenings, Matt and I put the kids to bed, attempt to clean up the house and then retreat to our corners with our laptops. Not ideal, but not the worst. As a writer, I find the quiet darkness helps me clear my head and think my thoughts, if you will. I can take off my “mom” hat, put on my “work” hat, and finally focus. What I end up sacrificing, however, is sleep. I frequently get lost in the tasks at hand, only to look up and realize it’s far later than I expected.
For years now, I have wanted to shift those tasks to the morning hours. My mom always awoke early, using that time to exercise, meal prep, get life in order. I have this theory, as unrealistic as it may be, that if I am able to start my day about two hours before my children get up, we would all be better off. Is this the secret to feeling happier, healthier, more productive?
Part of my thinking comes from so many articles I have read about how the most successful people are up at the crack of dawn, greeting the day with gusto. (One that haunts me in particular: this Wall Street Journal story, “Why 4am is the most productive hour.” ) There have been counterpoints, too. But I’m fixated on the smart folks who are early birds. Tim Cook. Anna Wintour. THE DUCHESS OF SUSSEX. Surely they are onto something? I’ve tried, several times, to go to bed earlier thinking I’ll leap up when my alarm goes off. But somehow that just. never. happens.
What’s your approach to your daily routine? I’ll confess, I have so many questions!
If you are a morning person: How did you get that way? Any tips on making the transition? What do you like about it? What are the drawbacks?
And if you are NOT a morning person: Do you just accept it? Relish your night owl status? Do you feel like you are losing sleep? Do you impose any parameters on your evening time?
Please answer in the comments so we can all learn from one another!