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It\u2019s Sunday night and you are scrolling through pictures of how rad your weekend has been, or you slept through the entire 48 hours and are contemplating how perfect it would have been if only you could do this all seven days a week.<\/p>\n
Your body doesn\u2019t really need that much sleep or that crazy level of partying. However, what it is craving is something you love as much, and feel that positive towards and excited about.<\/p>\n
This is not me typing randomly created scenarios because I speak from personal experience. I spent over a year staying awake till late with Netflix and Prime Video to accompany me on days when whichever boyfriend I had in my life could not speak to me for hours at end. This would be followed by me waking up at an hour that would leave me with only five minutes to wash and change and rush to work to only be late by half an hour if not more. My alarms would start ringing from six or seven am, but the first one I would hear would be the one at 8:55 AM after which I would snooze twice and finally jump out of bed at 9:05. And this was on a good day.<\/p>\n
When your routine involves rushing straight to work, doing actual work on some days and immersing yourself in busy work on others, coming back home to eat food and befriend OTT content websites, you really don\u2019t have much to genuinely be excited about or look forward to. Even though I believed that humans are meant to create and not just consume blindly, not much creation can happen when your life is not just mechanical, but so deprived of growth in any form. Plus, even if you are only going to consume content, it has to be better than being updated on the latest episode of House of Cards\/Brooklyn Nine-Nine\/ Insert Your Favourite Show.<\/p>\n
If you are not the biggest fan of your job, the situation is only getting worse. You might not realize it now, but the clock is ticking and your mind is the iron that is rusting, or the plant whose leaves are slowly turning yellow, and will soon dry out and before you know it, they will all fall off. You want to be a well-nurtured plant, the kind you\u2019d want to keep on your side table, your kitchen cabinet, or inside your living room.<\/p>\n
Why wake up early though, what does that have to do with any of this?
\nKickstarting your day the right way does not happen with a magic potion that can be gulped down to magically teach you the nuances of it. However, the way your day commences has a direct impact on how you will be feeling about yourself throughout the day, at least the first half if not the entire day.<\/p>\n
Advocates of the 5 AM Club would hand you a list with a dozen items to include in your morning routine. Let\u2019s be a little honest and slightly practical though \u2014 which person who has struggled with sleeping on time and waking up before they REALLY have to else they\u2019d lose their job, would ever manage to wake up at 5 AM to do a million things or even one for that matter?<\/p>\n
The only running I did in my life was the one each morning to catch the Metro, right from college days to my initial months at work. Today, if I decide to go for a 10K run the next morning, I know I can. These things never happen overnight, so be patient with yourself and be kind to yourself.<\/p>\n
Your mornings need a structure, which comes with doing one thing you choose, that you would actually like to have ticked off your checklist, and do it right after waking up. It could include exercising (which is never a bad idea), reading, writing, meditating or even making yourself some breakfast. The key is that it should either\u00a0enrich your mind\u00a0or\u00a0strengthen your body. If either of these things are focused on, right at the beginning of the day, your day has started on a successful note and you can pass that feeling on to other tasks that you do as well.<\/p>\n
Do this for 15 minutes, if that is all you can give to begin with. Instead of 9 AM, try waking up at 8:45 and walk around a bit. Do this for a week. Shift it to 8:30 the next week. It will seem easier. Slowly, you\u2019d have enough time to do three things in the morning and that\u2019s before your work day even starts. Soon enough, you\u2019d want to have a list of tasks to do for yourself in the evening too, which most likely won\u2019t even involve Netflix because you\u2019d be so consumed by growing and hustling that you\u2019d struggle to find time for bothering about who married whom and who\u2019s going to die in all the Series you once used to follow religiously.<\/p>\n
Have a strong\u00a0what\u00a0and\u00a0why, and keep at it. Start small, grow slow and remain consistent.<\/p>\n
My whats and whys:
\nI work out because it keeps me fit, which makes me feel stronger. It also keeps my mood in check and gives me a sense of accomplishment right when I start the day. (Read this to understand how you can be fitter too, this year)
\nI read because it gives me material to think about. It helps me learn from people who are experts in their respective fields and I can capture years of what they have studied in 300 pages.
\nI journal each night because it is a good way to reflect on my day and decipher what\u2019s bothering me, if there is anything, and analyze and solve it. It helps me document my life. In this way, I also understand how things I spent a lot of energy on a few weeks back don\u2019t bother me anymore which makes me not waste my time on issues like that now when I come across them.
\nWe need to feel in control of our lives.
\nThere are circumstances where we are stuck at a particular place and at that given point in time, there are factors that disable us from getting out of it. Of course, I wish every human had the freedom to be able to say \u2018No\u2019 to things they didn\u2019t like, but in the practical world, that hardly exists.<\/p>\n
Your job takes 1\/3rd of your day, and if you include your commute time, you might stretch it to 1\/2 of your day, although it\u2019s up to you to consider your commute time part of your work or not. I utilise mine for reading or listening to audiobooks so it\u2019s actually a good way to utilise that one hour of my day.<\/p>\n
The remainder of your day is your empty canvas \u2014 fill it with colors of your choice.
\nYou need to have things to look forward to, and the fact that you have something you probably aren\u2019t too fond of (aka your current life), should give you enough motivation to find things that you would like or would help you grow in a way or two.<\/p>\n
From the night owl who used to drag her half-drowsy ass to work each morning and cry through it all, I managed to make myself a person who has a structure to every hour for her day both pre & post-work hours. No, it is not a timetable. It\u2019s a list of things out of which some I love, and some I have to learn to love, but through each, I ensure that I grow.<\/p>\n
So what is that one thing you will spend 15 minutes on for yourself to kickstart your mornings, starting tomorrow?<\/p>\n
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