When I first started working a job with set hours after spending years as a home office-based contractor, I struggled to keep track of my life.
I was working less while going to bed/waking up around the same time, so logically it didn’t make sense. Still, I wasn’t coping, and I needed do something about it.
So it was that, one day, I decided to set my alarm to go off an hour earlier. From that point on, everything changed.
Now, when I wake up, my main concern isn’t all the various tasks I need to complete before setting out for the day. My main concern is me.
I can go for a walk, read, write, and eat breakfast without having to race the clock to make sure I’m at work on time.
Sometimes, my partner will join me, and we’ll talk about what our day holds, or anything that’s concerning us. The chance to discuss these things before they’re buried by the weight of another busy helps us understand and learn from them more clearly, and I think we are better people for it.
I call this time The Power Hour, because it is how I fuel my entire day.
Today, I enter the office invigorated and inspired, ready to begin the moment I sit down in my chair. Not many people can say the same.
When I get home, my brain isn’t exhausted by the hectic schedule I once made it suffer through. I have plenty of energy left for hobbies or interests, and I go to sleep confidant I’ve made the best use of my time.
So give it a try, and push through that initial temptation to stay in bed. Take it from me: it’s worth it.