Embracing Morning Productivity
December mornings are very cold and there is no better way to spend a cold morning than being wrapped up in a warm blanket and sleeping. This has been my routine since forever. No matter how early or late I sleep the night before, I just want to curl up in the morning until around 8:30 before I am fully awake.
It is 2023! While watching videos and reading articles to get myself pumped for the year, I saw a quote that stuck with me.
“Do the work even when you don’t feel like it.”
I decide to reflect, because honestly, I take a break at the slightest inconvenience. Once my back starts to ache, I take a break! Once I feel hungry, I take a break! Is it imposter syndrome? I take a break! I justify this with the excuse that I am only productive when I am in the mood, that my creative juices flow better when I am in the mood and not under pressure; a large part of this is true, but when I reflect back on that quote, I realise this attitude isn’t a good attitude to have towards work. Life doesn’t have to revolve around my own terms. I should be able to handle challenges even when I am not in the mood, even when my back aches, I should be able to hang in there a little longer, even when I am not in the mood, I should push myself to achieve perfection.
Another thing I have discovered and I know for a fact is that the morning hours are so precious because you wake up with a clear mind and you’re able to absorb almost everything efficiently. What would take me 3 hours in the afternoon, I can get done in about an hour in the morning.
Going forward, I will adopt two new habits:
- Doing the work even when I am not in the mood and doing it well.
- Utilising the early hours of the morning.
I can’t promise myself I won’t sleep, because habits, as they say, die hard, so I will start small by trying to stay awake for at least an hour or two after prayers (I pray at around 5:45am) and then taking a short nap before waking up fully before 9am. Slowly, my body will adjust to the change and I will be able to eliminate breaks and morning sleep completely.
Phew, it feels good to get that off my chest.
