I consider myself an “early to bed, early to rise” person. This was not always the case. When I was younger, I would stay up until dawn if it meant finishing a good book, often just started that preceding night. There was also a time during my marriage, that I would stay up late watching “Honeymooners” reruns with the now ex. Of course, I was working, and had to get up early, but did not yet suffer the aftermath of lack of sleep.

One thing that I have noticed as I have matured, I not only like sleep, but I need to sleep at least six hours to be at peak performance. Sure, I can pull an “all-nighter” now and again, but I feel terrible, and get cranky quickly. As time passed, I also learned that staying up really late on Friday and Saturday and then trying to recover on Sunday, was not the best of plans. After raising three teenagers (now adults), I developed a pattern of light sleep, where I could hear them come home, glance at the clock, and fall back asleep without too much trouble. I rarely nap, unless ill, as I can’t seem to sleep when it’s daylight.

All this has resulted in my current pattern, during the week, my alarm had been going off around 6:15 AM, and I’m usually turning off the TV, closing the podcast, or putting down the book or knitting around 11 PM. I can generally fall asleep in minutes. Weekends, I give myself an hour to stay up later or get up later. I have found the consistency of getting up at nearly the same time all the while reduces grogginess and fatigue.

Daylight Savings hit me hard this year. With the Spring forward, it was still dark or near dark when my alarm went off. Snooze button. Wake up late. Rush around. Not a great plan. Add to this, for two weeks at work I had daily 6 AM conference calls. This meant I had to actually get up at 5:30 AM to make coffee and try to be completely sensible by 6 AM. I couldn’t help but notice, that the mere fact that I HAD to get up for the call made it easier to do, in opposition to wanting to go to the gym at 5:30 AM.  This got me thinking.

A while back someone that I knew had recommended the “5 second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work and Confidence With Everyday Courage” by Mel Robbins. I often listen to books while driving or gardening on Audible. I had downloaded the book, and figured it was time to give it a listen.

The concept is simple enough. It is based on counting backwards, she uses 5,4,3,2,1 but admits that it could be from 10 etc. However, the count down is relevant in that it is intended to come to a distinct end, at which point, you ACT. The first example is to get out of bed without hitting the alarm clock. Mel actually suggesting setting the new time for at least 30 minutes earlier than normal and putting the alarm in the other room, or far enough away that you have to count down and then get out of bed to turn off the alarm. It’s supposed to be hard.

I admit, it sounded a bit silly and yet so simple. The more I listen the more I like the idea. As I write this I have not finished the book, but I have used the rule to get up at 5:45 AM as targeted. I absolutely love the discussion on how caught up we all are with our FEELINGS. Feelings cripple change and progress. It’s not the counting that rang so true for me, it was the fact that it does not matter how I feel, what matters is that I get up and do whatever it is that I’m trying to do. She provides several very funny examples of letters people wrote in confirming how much they hate getting up early, but how much better it felt once they were up and moving.

The possibilities are endless. Mel provides many different examples, personal and those of her readers. I am actually sitting here now, resulting from a “count down to do it dammit”.  I have long suffered from procrastination. I often get it partially under control, only to have it rear it’s ugly head again. I can and do perform the tasks that are absolutely imperative, like work, but I want to finally and once and for all get rid of all clutter and junk.

I want to get up earlier, get more done, change my outlook, stop making excuses. Let’s see how well it works.

Stay tuned. I will update the blog as I experiment more with the “rule” . So far, it’s a keeper.  If you think you might be interested, you can order or download the The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage from Amazon. I should add, that Mel is not a sweet prissy type, her language can be colorful, and she can be “enthusiastic”, if you enjoy Ted Talks, you can also watch her at: How to stop screwing yourself over | Mel Robbins | TEDxSF .

#5SecondRule #BeTheChangeYouWantToSee #ActivationEnergy #YouCanChangeYourBehavior #ItsSimpleNotEasy #YourFeelingsDontMatterHere #YouWillNeverFeelLikeIt #ParentYourself