waking up. early.

if i have a client at 8 am or if i have to be somewhere early, i have no problem waking up early. it's all the times that i don't have anything scheduled that i have trouble getting out of bed. this morning is the perfect example. i wanted to get up at 6:40 to make it to exercise boot camp. i did not get up until 9:20. while it feels good to get plenty of sleep (i didn't go to bed until 1 am) i feel guilty and bummed that i missed out on all those early morning hours. i used to always get up early and jump out of bed. i mean, i did train for a marathon two years ago which had me out of bed most mornings at 4:30. anyhow, i remembered that Zen Habits had a great post on changing your morning routine (and getting up earlier). a few of my favorite tips are;

• "Don’t make drastic changes. Start slowly, by waking just 15-30 minutes earlier than usual. Get used to this for a few days. Then cut back another 15 minutes. Do this gradually until you get to your goal time."

• "Go out of the bedroom as soon as you shut off the alarm. Don’t allow yourself to rationalize going back to bed. Just force yourself to go out of the room. My habit is to stumble into the bathroom and go pee. By the time I’ve done that, and flushed the toilet and washed my hands and looked at my ugly mug in the mirror, I’m awake enough to face the day."

• "Enjoy the break of dawn! As much as you can, look outside (or better yet, get outside!) and watch the sky turn light. It’s beautiful. And it’s quiet and peaceful. It’s now my favorite time of day. Getting up early is a reward in itself for me."

(images: 1. Mr. T in DC, 2. malingering, 3. magic madzik)