I started this crazy masochistic thing where I wake up at 5 am. It started by accident, probably the only way it could for where I am in this stage of my life. I went to bed around the usual time of 11 and woke up at 4:45 and could not fall back to sleep. I decided to just get out of bed and start my day. This was a Saturday. I got more done that morning than I had in the past couple of days, and by the end of the day, of course, I was exhausted. So I went to bed early and did it again the next day. It has turned into a 5 am wake-up routine.
The Benefits of Starting Early
I used to think it was this hype train of “look how productive I can be.” I guess it sounds that way with how I am talking about it. But for me, it is about how I can get the same necessary work done in a period of time where I have fewer distractions because everyone else is still asleep. This also gives me the rest of my day to do other things—like search for a job, take Igneous for walks or runs, or have a long lunch break with Jesse without the anxiety about my to-do list.
This also gives me, in theory, a fixed endpoint to my day. I still have not perfected this, but in theory, I should be ending my day at 6 pm. This is of course built around the idea that I will for a few weeks be balancing a full-time job and school. I have been ending my job search/training activities around 5 and working on the blog writing then. And this is why I am not succeeding. I have to find a better point in my day to work on the blog writing to make sure it is getting the attention it needs and to make sure I am still finishing my day on-time. I could always push it to 6:30 if I had to.
What my 5 am Morning Wake-Up Routine Looks like
Pre-Work
1. Feed the Children
I wake up at 5 am, staring at the cat who is ecstatic that she gets breakfast when it is still dark. We get out of bed and go to the kitchen where she meows and weaves between my feet—herding me to make sure I feed her but challenging me not to step on her in the process.
I feed her and Igneous, who is usually still in bed but comes out to see why the cat is making so much noise then makes sure the cat does not eat her food. Then she goes back to bed.
2. Clean
I clean up the kitchen and wash any dishes leftover from the night before. Usually, this only takes a few minutes.
3. Matcha Latte
I make a matcha latte because I stopped drinking coffee again, which is something I do a lot.
4. Journal for 20 minutes
After the latte is ready, I write in my journal for 20 minutes. I usually get to this part around 5:30. Journaling has been shown to help with anxiety, stress, and depression which most of us are probably feeling during these times. I use journaling to get any anxieties out of my head and to think about what I would like to accomplish during the day ahead.
Real Work
5. Write (fiction) for an hour
I spend an hour writing the first draft for chapters of a book project I am working on. They are short, episodic chapters, so one hour is usually enough to get through an entire draft of a chapter based on how I write.
6. Work on my thesis for an hour
So far, I am still working on research. I was supposed to start writing this week, but I have a call scheduled with my advisor on Friday where we will discuss the direction of my thesis. I have since put the writing on hold until next week.
7. Class readings/assignments for an hour
Here I do my different assignments for my classes and my two honors programs. I have them divided up per day so each day, I will focus on a different class. Anything I don’t get done that day, I move to either Thursday night or Saturday when Jesse is busy, and I have time to myself.
8. Exercise Igneous
Usually, I take Ig out between 8:30 and 9. It depends on how quick I am with the pre-latte cleaning and how tired I am. It probably seems strange that I wait four hours before taking her to pee, but Igneous is NOT a morning dog. When I try to get her out of bed early. She just grumbles and goes back to bed until she’s ready to go out. So I usually wait until she is ready for the day then we go for a walk, a run, or I chase her around the backyard because she has no friends where we are.
My 5 am Wake-Up Routine is a Work in Progress
I have been doing this for four days now, so I guess calling it a routine is a bit ambitious or overzealous. I could wait a few days before really calling it a routine. It will probably change over the upcoming weeks as well. I was studying Italian in there, but sometimes, that gets bumped until later in the day when I need a break from my job search.
And it will likely change again as my classes pick up and if I do manage to get that job. It is something to be adapted and changed with my lifestyle. But the important thing is, for now, it is allowing me to get the things that are personal priorities complete so I can dedicate the rest of my day to my other responsibilities. In the future, it will be the best way for me to work on any personal research and writing projects when I officially renter the workforce.
One thing I do still need to improve on is finding a good way to incorporate blog writing. Because over these past three or four days, my writing here seems to have taken a hit. But that could also be that I was not ready to think or write about anthropology yet. That being said, my 5 am wake-up routine is a work in progress, just like this blog, my book, my thesis, my life, and of course, just like me.