I've learned one thing for sure: Getting up earlier does not give you more time in the day. It gives you more stuff to do. No matter when you get up, there are not enough hours in the day.
My first few days were like the first few days of school. At least for me, I would wake up before the alarm. The anxiety of making sure I get up in time tends to make for some spotty hours of rest right before I actually need to be awake. I was excited, so I was more energized and movtivated the first few mornings. I would clean, do random neglected chores, make visits to family or friends, go to the grocery, go to work, etc.
I have one of those alarm clocks that one can set to music- as in, I can set a certain track of a cd to the hour and it will play the song instead making that awful BAMP BAMP BAMP sound. It makes it a little less irritating to start to wake up... but, I've noticed I can't stick with the same song or artist for more than three days in a row. Right now I have it set to a Seal song (The Princess and the Liar)... the day after tomorrow, I think I'm going back to Loreena McKennit.
But, things started to get more difficult barely a full week into the experiment. While I was getting up earlier, I was going to bed around the same time I usually do (between 1 and 2 AM). Even though that has changed somewhat (I'm at least in the bed around midnight), the hours are catching up to me. This morning was particularly hard to get up.
I am "awake" by 8 every morning, but as to whether or not I'm physically up and out of bed has varied. Plan B must be put into action (If you're the praying kind, pray for poor David who will be transfering me to the other room if I'm not up by 8:15... I am not kind first thing in the morning).
I've noticed I can't plan more than two days ahead. When I was anxious to begin the Lent experiment, I made a whole week's worth of plans and wrote them in my planner. While many things were accomplished, I did not follow that schedule to the letter. No completing my lists discourages me, so, I'm trying to be a little more realistic about my goals over the next few days.
While most of the news might sound like a drag, I'm sort of liking being awake earlier. I don't like having to be anywhere earlier, but I like getting up and going about my morning at a slower pace. I am more of a "breakfast person" now, enjoying my green tea, toast, and yogurt (or that fantastic oatmeal with flax seeds from Trader Joe's). I enjoy Anya's funny morning messages (since she knows I'm up, she sends texts to help wake me up). I like having a little more wiggle room in my schedule to do spontaneous things like getting lunch with someone or reading more of my book.
All in all, I predict I'll want to have more of a morning ever after Lent is over. Of course, I'm only 11 days in, so, we'll see how my tune changes in the next 10 days.
I hope those of you who observe Lent are holding strong to your goal. If you've faltered, I'm sure it's only a step back to help you get a running start.
On a side note, the highlight of my week was probably this morning... a student had to wring out his shirt over his mat towards the end of class making a great splashing sound. That might sound gross, but I thought it was funny and sort of rewarding. He glared at me, said something about Hitler, then he smiled, and I giggled.
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