Getting Up Early

[ericadawn16]

So, I've been reading Leo Babauta and his tips for having a happier life, starting with getting up early:
http://knol.google.com/k/leo-babauta/how-to-become-an-early-riser/1lh8l74vz0dbv/2#

Some of it is no problem, like getting up earlier than I used to, like 8:15 instead of 8:30, but then, he mentions:

"Sunrise. People who wake late miss one of the greatest feats of nature, repeated in full stereovision each and every day — the rise of the sun."

Yeah, I haven't gotten up that early of my own volition since college and that's back when I lived in Tampa where people don't leave security lights on all night and the sunlight streaked into my window in between the high rises.

So, I'm skipping that one but this one caused me the most trouble so far:
"Have a good reason. Set something to do early in the morning that’s important. This reason will motivate you to get up. I like to write in the morning, so that’s my reason."

Umm...good reason? I get up early where I immediately turn on the computer and see what's new on my email, LJ and the Torchwood section of DWF. I'm guessing that doesn't meet his criteria of "good reason."

Now, should I feel bad that my goals are that low or just make sure I write a page of one of my stories each morning or a more complete breakfast that's not just Danactive or just...screw the good reason clause?

Comments

[sunrise-sets.livejournal.com]

I love Leo! I follow him on Twitter and read Zen Habits... though I fail miserably at *actually* following what he has to say.

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

I wasn't even sure anyone else on my FList would have even heard of him. Also, I found this movie on tv: Spirit Trap

Have you heard of it?

[sunrise-sets.livejournal.com]

Nope, never heard of it. Is it supposed to be related to Leo? Or just a movie?

;)

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

No, I was just watching it at the time. It's kind of like a British House on Haunted Hill and it stars Billie Piper!

I was watching it and my mom asked, "Is that Rose?"

[sparrowinthesky.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Well, all I know is that I hate waking up early no matter what. XD

I always tell myself on the weekend that I'll get up at 7:30 or 8 so I can get started on running early in the day or cleaning my room or something. But then I end up mumbling in my sleep to my mom, "Get me up in another hour or so..." and I don't get up til 9:30 at the earliest. XD I guess I'm just not a morning person no matter what I do.

[winter-mirage.livejournal.com]

Are you like me at all and out of a job?

Since I've been without a job for the past four months, I've found it easier to get up every morning. Call me crazy, but really it is. I used to run three Verizon franchise stores, and every day when I woke up, I would ask myself, "What stupid thing is going to happen today?" Now that I don't have that stress, being awake in the morning is much, much easier.

I don't think you should at all feel badly about your goals. Maybe it's just that you don't have enough of them. You can always change that to give yourself good reason! :) Personally, I read in the morning. First the paper, then a book or fic online. I'm not the type to sit and rot my brain in front of the television, so reading is where it's at.

I've always been a bit odd in the sleep department, so I may not be the best person to dispense advice here. (I get no more than four or five hours a night. Any more than that, and I'm groggy all day.) In bed at one or two, up by six or seven. I think at this point, it's such a habit for me that sleeping in is extremely foreign, I can't do it.

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

No, I have a job...just not the job everyone thinks I should have. My mom likes it because it's a job, pays the bills and I get the same days off each week.

I figure I'll want something different when I'm older so I can have hours more like everyone else...my friends from college are always asking when I'll have a Saturday or Sunday off or we can't get together which means I haven't seen them since 2007...

Yeah, I guess I should look into goals...although I do usually read at least one fanfic every morning, hehe.

As for sleep, I'm the opposite. I was told after the third seizure that I have to get eight hours of sleep and that's what my body seems to demand even if I don't follow-through...I tend to take a nap in the afternoon and when that doesn't happen, I fall asleep wherever...although luckily not at work yet...

[winter-mirage.livejournal.com]

just not the job everyone thinks I should have.

Good lord, that sounds like virtually everyone I know, too. I went to school for law enforcement, but spent the last 18 months managing retail stores. (I still have to finish one thing in order to be a cop, and that one thing is about $4000.)

Well, at least you have a job. Unemployment, for me, is the most boring thing ever. Even though I haven't worked for four months, I still can't get used to the idleness. (I don't sit still worth a damn!) I went from working 70 hours a week...to nothing. How lame is that?

Yanno, it's funny you bring up what your seizures did to your sleep patterns. I had two grand mal seizures as well (back when I was in high school) and they did the opposite to me what they did to you. When I was a little kid, I would always get up early, but I would also require about 8 hours of sleep. The seizures cut that need in half. Funny how that works with different people.

Oh, no sleeping at work! That would be bad!