A few weeks back, I announced I needed to de-stress my life, specifically my mornings. Red flags were flying all over the start of my day and I knew a change needed to come soon as possible. So, I decided to become an early morning person for the next 30 days in order to bring peace to my dawn. I had a feeling that this would be a game changer, but I was not prepared for such a shift.
In the last 30 or so days, mornings have become my time to get my brain together and I didn’t realize how much I needed that time. I spend most of my day dedicated to the well being of others, whether it be work, family, volunteering, etc. and little dedicated exclusively to me. Mornings became that time and, as a result, I found myself giving to others from a full cup as opposed to almost empty.
The morning also became the calm before the storm I needed so my inner voice could come forward before the rest of the day drowned it out. I am proud to report I am moving into the next month with a clear understanding of my vision for my career, my passion projects, what makes me happy, and what I will not be bringing into the new year. I have new projects I want to work on in 2015 planned out and a long list new ideas for my current clients. When I got quiet, my boss lady voice came through.
Here are a six more side effects:
First Round of Emails Done Before Sunrise
For someone who is usually staring down the barrell of an overflowing email box by 8:00 a.m., it was nice to take 20-30 minutes to clean out the junk, reply to the easy conversations, and get the red flags on my To do List. Once the work day really began, all the e-clutter had been swept away and I could get productive immediately.
More Patience and Kindness
My husband actually shared this one with me and when your husband makes note of something like that, it is time to pay attention. I became a more patient mother and wife. Like I mentioned in my earlier post, patience was non-existent in the morning, especially when it came to my son. But now that I have a more peaceful start, I can maintain peace during the morning routine.
The Day’s Stresses Don’t Get To Me
Prior to the challenge, I would let the day’s ups and downs frazzle me. If a plan fell through or an idea didn’t pan out, I would become frustrated and, frankly, pissed off. The reason being, I had crammed so much into the short amount of day, that if one thing didn’t work out everything would fall apart. With more time to plan in the morning, I could make room for the little bumps in the road.
More Sure of What I Want Out Of The Day
Have you ever had that end of day feeling where you’re totally exhausted but have no idea what you actually got done? Night time comes and you feel no more ahead of the game than yesterday. For me, this was a way too often occurrence. I now could plan my To Do List with no distractions and decide what was high, mid, and low level. If I finished the day with all my high level items done, I could celebrate a productive day.
Being Alone
There is something about being awake when the rest of the world is still asleep. Though I know it not to be true, it felt like I was all by myself in the world. I never understood why people enjoyed the morning time so much, now I know it is because they get to greet the day, not just fall into it.
Excited About Not Being Alone Anymore
After two hours of dead silence and being alone with my thoughts, the sound of my husband turning on the shower or my son singing in his toddler bed were welcomed interruptions. I looked forward to spending the morning with them because I had already spent time with me. I guess that whole absence makes the heart grow fonder adage is true.
So that concludes my challenge. If you are looking to bring more peace, clarity, and focus to your life, you should try it. I don’t know if becoming an early bird will have the same effect on your life, but for me it has made all the difference.
BMWK: Did you do this challenge with me? How did it help you?