You may have seen this one coming. With yesterday and challenge #1 being to Set and Be Strict About Bedtime, just as importantly is setting a wake up time that is the same everyday.
This is challenge #2 of 30 to get you on the right track by taking baby steps to increase your energy, efficiency and organization which will propel you into a life that is able to develop an overall financially smart, happy and frugal home.
This 30-day challenge is working towards “being intentional” and we really feel that this lays the foundation to do everything else.
So again… Be Intentional Challenge #2 –
Work Towards Waking Up at the Same Time Everyday, Including Weekends
This one may seem easy, but it also depends on when you set that time for. We have ours set at 5:30 am. This was VERY early for us, but we focused on getting to bed by 10:30 pm and then got up earlier and earlier, by 10, 15 or even 20 minute increments each day to build up to the 5:30 wake up time.
We are not saying to get up at 5:30 am, but decide a time that is good for you personally and make that your goal.
We chose 5:30 for a few reasons…
- Medical and health professionals claim that an adult needs between 6 – 8 hours of sleep a night, so we went in the middle to get 7 hours.
- Between blogging, homeschooling, work, side-businesses, 5 little kids, wanting to exercise, have personal prayer and study time and a couple of hours to have time to ourselves before kids get up…5:30 seemed to be the ticket!
This is awfully early, and there was a day when that seemed to be impossible. But again, working towards that goal has helped tremendously because the time from 5:30 am – 7:30 am is extremely productive and our most productive 2-hours of the entire day!
However, you do not need to get up at 5:30 – decide when you want to get up and stick with that time! It doesn’t matter if it is 5:30 or 8:30 🙂
Similarly to going to bed at the same time everyday, you will not only gain more energy naturally, a more lively functioning mind and body for efficiency during the day, but you are improving your general health at the same time. Your body functions well with a normal sleep/wake time.
Since we stopped going to bed at our normal time in November when all of the holiday craziness hit, we haven’t been able to get up at 5:30 and it has been a struggle to get everything done and it is quite stressful playing catchup all day. So we are ready to have the holidays behind us and work up to the 5:30 wake time again. It will probably take us a few days as we set our alarm earlier and earlier each morning, but we are looking forward to productivity again!
Here’s a few things that has helped us get out of bed on time:
- Build up to it, don’t shock your body by all of the sudden getting up a lot earlier than you normally do.
- Get up at that time on the weekends too! We love having early Saturday and Sunday mornings! They are nice, relaxing and make for much less stress even on those days. Plus, when Monday’s hits, it isn’t so awful 🙂
- Try a gradual sweet sounding alarm. This is a recent change for us and we highly recommend it! For years, we have used those “shock your body awake” alarms and they just seem so stressful now. We have an alarm that starts off a few minutes before we wish to wake and it is very gentle relaxing sounds, like birds chirping, etc. and then gradually gets louder and louder. It is a much more pleasant way to wake up!
Finally, we have heard about the wake lights many, many times before but haven’t jumped on that bandwagon yet. We are curious to hear if anyone has good experiences with them!?! Amazon has a sale on a popular model plus $20 off coupon to make for a good deal on one of these lamps in case anyone is interested and has the budget to get one. We want to know if they work as they aren’t the cheapest things, but they could be worth the money.
The Philips Wake Up lamp HERE is normally $99 on sale for $79 and has a $20 off coupon = final is $59 shipped free. It has nearly 5 stars out of 566 reviews, so according to those people, this lamp rocks! It appears that this can double as your pleasant sounds alarm too so it can be two in one.
Here’s a description from the site:
The Philips Wake-Up Light HF3470 provides a more pleasant and natural way to wake up in the morning. Because there’s nothing worse than being jarred awake by a blaring alarm clock, the Philips Wake-Up Light, an Official Light Therapy Product of the National Sleep Foundation, wakes you in a natural way with light that increases gradually. The Wake-Up Light simulates the sunrise to help you greet the morning with an improved mood and energy level. Light gradually increases for 30 minutes before your alarm time to gently prepare your body to wake up and feel more energetic at the start of your day. With optional FM radio and nature sounds, the Wake-Up Light ensures waking up will be a pleasant experience.
Also, we know talk about getting up at a normal wake time or even an earlier wake time if you see fit for your schedule doesn’t sound all that pleasing and restful. Well, in Reading Rainbow style, you don’t have to take our word for it. We found hundreds of other sites, blogs and articles talking about the amazing difference their lives were with consistent and often early wake up times. So you can read some of these things we found from the links below:
- 10 Advantages of Waking Up Early from Shine.Yahoo.com
- Why the ‘early bird’ is happier and healthier in life from Telegraph.co.uk
- Health Benefits of Waking Up Early from B4Tea.blogspot.com
- Wake Up Earlier For A Happier, Healthier Life [Study] from Inquisitr.com
- 7 Reasons Why You Should Wake Up Early from Stronglifts.com
- Get Up, Be Happier: 3 Painless Ways to Wake Up Early from News.Health.com
So…now is the moment of truth, will you do challenge #2 with us and work towards a consistent wake up time each day? What time do you plan to get up?
Finally, one fun and new thing we will be doing this year is having Facebook groups for each month’s challenges. This first month we have our Be Intentional with The Thrifty Couple Facebook Group HERE. We highly encourage you to ask to join so that we can communicate and encourage everyone. It is intended to be a small and intimate group as we develop relationships with our readers, talk back and forth and ask questions! We are excited about this new avenue and hope you will find it encouraging too!
Head to the Be Intentional with The Thrifty Couple Facebook Page HERE and ask to join us there!
Photo Credit: FitDeck.com
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