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Sleep Hack – Plan a Full, Active Morning



It seems like anybody who’s worth their salt gets up early.  I guess that makes sense, because you can get more accomplished if you don’t sleep through half the day.

But getting up early is easier said than done.  My problem is that I’ll get up but feel too lethargic to actually use my brain.  So I end up sitting at my desk, wasting time or falling back asleep.

Here’s my handy hack to help you be productive in the morning:  create an active, full schedule.

If you plan to do active things in the morning, you’ll be less tempted to sit around and possibly fall back asleep.  I know it helps me.

But what kinds of things can you do at 7:00 in the morning?  Or even 6:00?  Here’s just a few ideas:

  • Buy groceries – The store will be deserted early in the morning, so you won’t have people in the way.  This is my new favorite morning activity.  If your grocer has a little coffee cafe, you can even treat yourself for getting up early and being productive!
  • Get gas – Yeah, it’s a small task.  But it has to be done.  Why not do it early in the morning, when you’re too comatose to think big thoughts?
  • Bank run – Need some cash from the ATM?  How about a quick deposit in the night drop?  You can actually do quite a bit of banking when the bankers are asleep.
  • Grab the mail – If you have a post office box, you’ve got to physically go and retrieve your mail.  Why not do it at 6 AM?  I’ll bet parking won’t be an issue.
  • Exercise – This is definitely a classic early morning activity.  I prefer evening exercise, but that’s because I like evening showers.  But that’s another post. 
  • House work – Depending upon your living situation, you can do some mild household chores in the morning.  Your spouse will probably wake up if you vacuum, but you could fold laundry or do some dusting.

I’m sure you can think of other menial tasks you can do during the early morning.  Just give it a try.  If you know you’ll be productive in the morning, it’s easier to get up.  You’ll be an early riser before you know it.

Now, I’ve got to sleep, so I can go buy groceries in the morning.  🙂 [tags]sleep hack, lifehack, sleep[/tags]

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Comments

4 Responses to “Sleep Hack – Plan a Full, Active Morning”

  1. Tim@Todspace
    May 4th, 2007

    I also thought a little about it ..

    The cheapest trick is to place the mobile phone to the other corner of the room. So when the wake-up alarm begins, you are forced to get up and walk to turn this noisemaker off. That may already help in some cases.

    But not always!

    Second solution …

  2. Andrew Flusche
    May 4th, 2007

    Hi Tim,

    Thanks for the link and stopping by to comment. You’re right about having the alarm across the room. Heck, mine’s actually out in the hallway.

    Take care,
    Andrew

  3. Paul
    May 7th, 2007

    I prefer to sleep during the day. I’m one of those people that is creative at night. It’s nice and quiet and I can update my blogs with out all the hassles of the day.

  4. Andrew Flusche
    May 7th, 2007

    Hey Paul,

    I always find it fascinating that many creative people do their best work at night. I wonder what society would be like if more people could choose their own schedules. It seems like we’d have a flurry of creative works, if people weren’t forced to sleep “normal” hours.

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