“The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.”

Sleep is like the nice guy you meet when you’re too young to appreciate him. You know it’s good for you but you’re not asking for stability and health. You want passion, tears, fireworks! Then one day, after you’ve been worn thin you lay in bed at 2 am with your stomach growling, unable to fall asleep wondering how in the world your sleep schedule got so messed up. Sleep is a hot commodity. We all want it but somehow it just seems so unattainable. We act like sleep is for other people, perhaps babies and the elderly, but there’s no way that you, a functioning (or somewhat functioning?) adult could possibly have a full nights sleep on a weekday. I mean who even does that?

I grew up watching my mom spend her days running to work, coming home to eat dinner, getting ready for bed and then watching hours of TV before finally dozing off at 12:30 am. All this only to have to wake up a mere 6 hours later so she could get ready and catch a bus to NYC and do the whole thing all over again. She woke up early but she didn’t own her days. It was all sort of routine and became very unintentional. Instead of putting thought into what she was doing she sort of just went though the motions and let her desire for TV time take priority over her body’s need for sleep. I began to do this too when I stated working. I would come home at 5:30 and have a complete blur of a night before finally laying my head down on the pillow at 2am. I would wake up the next morning with the groggy eyes and a blaring alarm, completely exhausted and unmotivated to put a decent outfit together, much less go to work.

Repeat after me, sleep is a priority. You NEED sleep. You won’t have to ability to achieve any of your goals or excel in anything if you don’t get enough. Waking up early gives you clarity and time to be healthy and intentional about your day. There’s just something about the morning that releases magic that motivates you to get it together and get through that to-do list. I have never met or heard of a successful person who’s said “get up early? I don’t do that. I just kinda wake up at 1pm and cross my fingers that everything goes well!” The laziness that typically follows late rising can cause you to develop lazy, unproductive habits such as scrolling through social media for hours, taking forever to get out of bed, and generally being sluggish and unmotivated. I’ve started waking up early and it’s made the biggest difference in my energy and productivity. I don’t feel the desire to be on my phone or watch TV and YouTube videos for hours. Instead I’m focused on exercising, making a tasty and nutritious breakfast, and pounding through my to-do list. When I wake up early you’ll find that you have a much more positive outlook on your days and feel much more productive and organized. You don’t have to be chained to a schedule of working 9-5 with your entire morning dedicated to going to work. Instead, own your morning by allowing yourself time to yourself before you even have to start getting ready for your day. You might just find that you like how it feels.