Waking Up
Early to bed and early to rise — easier said than done?
Throughout recorded history, the more successful among us have generally been early risers. While there are exceptions to every rule, something high performers have in common, more often than not, is that they tend to wake up before 6 AM in the morning.
As common as the phrase ‘early to bed, early to rise’ is, few, surprisingly, actually implement something like that in their everyday routine. The ‘early to bed’ bit is a big commitment — you have to risk missing out on some potentially great experiences that come with staying up late. As a child, I found pleasure in secretly staying up with a torch under the covers, reading a book that had hooked me (context: pre-internet days/stone age). I’ve been through nights of aimless debauchery with a bunch of mates — some very good times. I’ve had deep conversations, well into the early hours of the day, with some beautiful and interesting people about life, death, love, art, philosophy and what not! I’ve also reaped the benefits of sleep deprivation as I pulled all-nighters to turn my work in before a deadline, or as I tried to get some creative juices flowing in the old noggin.
Life has got in the way of living.
But, of late, things haven’t been the same. Life has got in the way of living. I stay up late, but not particularly doing anything of consequence. Not sure if it is a case of insomnia or if it is just an indication of the utter lack of control I have over my routines. Being an entrepreneur is stressful enough to knock a lot of things down — the sacrifice of fun wrongly seems imperative for success, especially when you use the same yardstick to measure the accomplishments of fishes and birds (in Einstein’s parlance). Often, the depression and self-doubt that creeps in takes over — in a hurry to get out of the corporate rat race, have I ended up in a rat race of a different (read: harder) kind? My nights are filled with movie/series binges or pointless internet rabbit-holing, mostly to fill up my insomnia riddled hours of sleeplessness. I’ve tried my hand at things of consequence like reading, writing, or even learning a new skill to substitute the time-kill, but nothing works.
So, how badly could a few hours of video/sleeplessness really affect me? Well, being the early riser that I used to be, I am now unable to wake up anytime before 7:30 AM — sometimes even later. I wake up groggy, immobile for a while, until I push myself out of bed about half an hour after lying in. I have unsightly bags under my eyes. My work, both in terms of productivity and quality, has taken a hit. Most importantly, I’ve lost my sense of happiness and contentment. There’s no joy in my song, no spring in my step, and, definitely, no sparkle in my eye (Level Unlocked: Cliche Alliteration).
I’m changing that. Insomnia be damned. I will sleep no later than 11 PM, extraordinary circumstances excepted, and will wake up no later than 5:30 AM. If rising early is one of the common threads that most successful people have shared throughout history, odds are there’s something to it. Don’t get me wrong, I will have my occasional indulgence in spending time on meaningful and fulfilling activities if it means I have to stay up a little late —but I will not let life get in the way of living. I will wake up no later than 5:30 AM. This will be my first step towards a more fulfilling life.
Do let me know what time you wake up and how that impacts you.
