Spring 2014 Goal: Rise and Shine

When I want something to get done, I do it first thing. I am not a natural early riser.  But over the past years, I have become one.  I've always had my best energy, ideas, and creativity in the morning.  When I was in graduate school, I separated my homework into AM and PM, the former for writing and analysis, the latter for reading.

When I got my first post-graduate school job, I rose early at least a few times a week to exercise.  Fast forward to when I first became a mom and was constantly sleep-deprived, once Babyface started sleeping through the night, 5am felt like heaven.  When he would sleep until 6 and I still got up at 5, I had one gorgeous hour to myself.

Since I started my new job in December, I've been getting up early to workout. In the winter, it was harder for me to rise earlier. So I started getting up closer to 6 than 5.  Now that daylight saving time is here (hello, sunshine!) and spring is slowly arriving, that makes it a bit easier. I've also been trying to maintain my same bedtime (within an hour) on the weekends.

My January Goal to have TV free weeknights was great practice in keeping me mindful of how I spend my evenings.  For about a month I was very consistent about only watching TV on the weekends.  Now it's been a few months and I've noticed that I watch less TV in general, even on weekends when I'm allowed.  Sometimes My Heart's Desire and I will watch a show on a weeknight and when that show is over (or half over, Dexter), I'm done.  I don't get sucked into watching "just one more." This has helped me go to bed earlier, which helps me rise earlier.

When I rise early in the morning, I do not fool around. I do what I got up to do.

So here is my Spring Goal: to rise early in the morning. Waking up early allows me to do the things that I want to do—like exercise and write. To be SMART about it, my Spring Goal is to rise by 5:15 at least three weekdays per week and by 6:30 one weekend day from now until Memorial Day.