Early to bed and early to rise – Nothing beats a good night’s sleep, especially when you’re a part of the 5am club like I am.
These days, I live to wake up at five and to jump all over my morning routine. I love this routine so much that I’ve become almost irrationally protective of it.
You see, my routine would not be possible without adequate sleep and if I do have to sleep in later, it pretty much kills the flow of the entire day, right from the start.
That said, I wanted to focus on how fast you can actually kill good habits.
The other day, my girlfriend wanted for us to go out to a burlesque show. While I don’t particularly care for going out to events anymore, there was some appeal to attending the event.
This would be the first time since the pandemic started for me to go out to a show, it was also a chance to hang out with friends who lived on different schedules.
Going to the show however, would keep me up past midnight. While that three extra hours up might not appear like a big deal on the surface, it had a huge impact on my routine.
Right from the moment I woke up, my productivity had instantly diminished by sheer virtue of me waking up two hours later than usual.
I should also mention that the night before the burlesque show, my girlfriend had intense nightmares in the middle of the night that kept me up for an hour, which caused me to wake up later the day before as well.
So in just two days of waking up later than usual and not completing my morning ritual, I fell dramatically behind in my endeavors.
I can only imagine how bad it would get if I allowed it to stay this way for five entire days or more.
And yet, far too many members of our society live this way.
The majority of people have big expectations for the life they’d like to live, but would never dream of structuring their lives to accomplish what it is they strive for.
After the burlesque show, we joined our friends for a nightcap at the only bar in town that was open at that hour. Given that I don’t drink, this is actually made worse.
It’s worse because the only bar still open in town at midnight is a dingy, repugnant hole and I was the only sober one there. The drinks are cheap, which of course, brings in the worst dregs.
I was completely surrounded by the worst members of our society – a bunch of drunken grubs who live for nothing.
It really was a sad, depressing sight to behold. And yet, people insist on living this sad routine.
Getting a good night’s sleep is the cornerstone of living a good life and adopting a morning routine that builds your day for optimal productivity.
As Earl Nightingale mentioned in his The Strangest Secret video, if you want to do what’s right for you, do the opposite of what the majority is doing and you’ll come out far ahead.