In the Way

Using a Plan as Motivation

So, getting up early last week was again, a complete failure - I woke up, rationalized my way out of getting out of bed (just as I promised not to) every morning.  It was terrible - I woke up late, missed breakfast, was late to work, and somehow was still just as tired as when I get up early. 

Ive decided a big part of the problem is having a reason to get up - I decided to plan to get up early each day last week without planning on running in the morning, thinking that taking baby steps would more likely lead to success.  I think, however, its had the opposite result - as I lie in bed in the morning, I realize that I dont have a specific reason to get up, so I stay in bed.  This week I decided to buckle down and plan on exercising in the morning, and when the alarm went off today, I popped right out of bed.  I ran, made it to work on time, and felt great all day. 

While it's still pretty early to tell, I think its becoming apparent that without a real reason to escape the pillowy clutches of the matress, you're pretty unlikely to do so - so make a plan, and have a reason to get out of bed in the morning - I think you'll find it's much easier to do.

Getting up Early - Wednesday

I simply cannot seem to do it.  I managed to be up at 6:20 tuesday, but Monday and this morning (Wednesdady) were complete failures.  I'm going to keep trying, because Im really committed to the idea of getting up early.  I love mornings, and I love getting things done before work.  Maybe I just need to try a bit harder?

In my quest for early rising success, I decided to see what the mighty internet had to say on the subject outside of Steve Pavlina's wisdom.  Lo and behold, and entire site devoted to the subject:

Howtowakeupearly.com

A few more sites/posts that seem like they might be of help:

Waking up Early:  15 tips that Work

Zen Habits:  10 Benifits of Rising Early, and How to Do It

LifeHack.com: Wake Up Early and other healthy sleeping tips

Getting up Earlier

Another week gone, and no running to be had.  Im getting pretty frustrated at this point - and Im really concerned about why I cant make myself do the things I want to do.  If I know that I want a specific end result, and I know the steps necessary to get there, why cant I make myself take the steps?

I dont know the answer to that, and I suppose if I did, I'd be a bestselling author.  Regardless, Im not giving up - I think maybe I just need a little more help.  Ive decided I might have a better chance if I do this in steps - first work on getting up on time every morning, and then work on running every day.  Maybe its just too much to jump into both at the same time.

So its time to start getting up early - one of the personal development bloggers I respect most has an interesting few posts on the subject, maybe the most famous how-to-wake-up-early series on the web.  What an honor.  Anyway, his name is Steve Pavlina and his "How to Become and Early Riser" series can be found here.

The gist of it is this:  First, train yourself to get up right when your alarm goes off.  At 5 or 6 in the morning, your brain can rationalize better than any other time, and it always thinks that more sleep is the way to go.  If you allow yourself to contemplate whether or not getting up is a good idea, you wont get up.  Second, Get up at the same time every day, but go to bed when you're tired.  Your body will tell you when you need to go to bed.

Im going to give this a try for the next week - get up every day at 6, no questions asked.  If I can stick with it for a week, Ill try to get going on a running plan at the same time.

Sickness and Exercise

As you may recall, a few weeks ago I started a plan to start running 5 days a week.  Im not in terrible shape, but nobody really wants to see me with my shirt off either, so I decided this was a worthwhile goal for the fitness of it - but really what Im after is the ability to make a plan and stick with it. 
Its been almost a month since i started running, and I've been diligent - I get up every morning early I run, and it makes for a great start to my day:  Im up earlier, I eat a healthy breakfast, and I have more energy for the day. 

A few days ago, I felt myself starting to get sick.  Sore throat, cough, general achyness.  I persevered the first day that I felt poorly and ran anyway, but day 2 I decided to rest.  It wasa  tough call - I knew that even a small break in my routine and the whole thing could fall apart.  3 weeks in is way too soon to have developed a true habit that requires little or no self discipline to maintain (at least for me), so I was pretty concerned about whether or not Id be able to pick it back up once I was better.  I wasnt too concerned about the lost training potential, because as I said, thats really a secondary benefit in this endeavor.  Finally, I decided to rest for a few days - I figured the extra sleep would help, and resting (as opposed to running) had to be the better choice.  After all - the sooner I get better, the sooner I can start up again, right?

That was about a week ago.  Im not back to running.  I cant get up early.  Im sleeping through my alarms.  Im definitely better by now, and theres no reason for me to not be back on the wagon.  Complete, utter, failure. 

At this point its looking like I should have run through the sickness - or at least somehow made an effort to keep the habit - but what?  Get up early and walk?  I dont know.  Regardless, I need to find some motivation to get back to it. 

Resolutions round 2

So, its been about a week. Heres where I stand:

Running: 

I actually ran every day this week.  Incredible.  Im only planning on running on weekdays (I read somewhere that you're supposed to give your body a couple of days a rest a week.  I dont remember where I read that, or if the source was credible, but Im going with it), so its 1 week down.  Monday it was -10 outside when I left.  My breath froze to my eyelashes, making it difficult to see. Im still feeling strong, but Im not sure how many -10 degree days worth of self discipline I have.

Getting up early:

Less stellar results on getting up.  I was up before 7:30 every day, but I was really hoping for 6 every day.  Better luck next week?

Getting to work on time:

Ive certainly done better than I have in the past - every day before 9:05, most before 9:02.  Not too shabby.