I thought I'd post about why I've decided to starting rising early and why I thought it was important enough to make it a goal of mine for this month. This is coming from a notorious night owl who is changing her ways.
For a while now...since sometime in the fall, I'd been thinking about getting up early(as in before my kids were up). I had heard lots of good things about it and so off and on I would try it and those days were usually great. But I would go right back to my old habits of sleeping till my kids got up or a bit later if I could. Then in the past month I started hearing and reading about how great getting up early is from just about every source(people, blogs, etc). So when April rolled around and I was thinking about what my new goals would be for the month, this immediately came to mind.
Here are my reasons:
1. I have time to wake up and get my day going before I have to be Mom.
2. I have time to read my Bible, journal and pray(which I know from experience won't happen if I don't do it in the morning)
3. I get to have a cup of tea without anyone else asking for one as well :) Seriously.
4. I'm able to get my priorities/schedule/list ready for the day ahead.
5. I get a shower without having to wonder if my kids are getting into something(when I've actually gotten my shower before the kids are up...I'm working towards this).
6. I am in a better head space when I get up before my kids...I'm ready to be Mom and to go about my day with purpose and joy...instead of getting out of bed when they do and feeling rushed, cranky and still tired.
Things I've noticed just over the past week of starting this...
I am a happier person. My days flow so much better and seem to go more smoothly. My kids seem to be more at peace. My house is neater and cleaner:) I'm getting meals prepared on time. I seem to be more productive and am able to fit more into my day.
Overall, I'm hoping to make this a habit. It felt odd getting up late yesterday and even today(I was up at 7:15 which was still before my kids, but not as much time as I'd like to have). The peace and quiet of the morning is different than that in the evening(and believe me I LOVE that time...it was/is one of my arguments for staying up so late...which I'm also working on so that I actually get some sleep).
Some things I read that were really motivating for me:
From Simple Mom : Numbers 1 & 3 really resonate with me
From Inspired to Action: the article I linked to just really made me think(This being my favorite paragraph: Comfort and change CANNOT coincide. The one you value the most will determine on which side of the wardrobe you’ll live your life)...so then I checked out her (free) e-book called Maximize Your Mornings and read through it. Just making small changes everyday will get you there(and me as well). It's a worthwhile read.
So there it is...my reasons why I chose to start rising early(I will say that all the light early in the morning DEFINITELY helps...we'll see how my resolve is come next winter:)
I also wanted to add that it does take some work. For me to really be able to have the time I want and get a shower and not wake anyone up I am having to do some rearranging(which I knew we would do soon, but it has forced me to do it instead of procrastinate). For me, my goal now is to be in bed by 10, 10:30 at the latest...this is changing from typically going to bed around midnight and it means I must get stuff done right after supper or right after the kids are in bed so that I still have some downtime before I go to bed. We are also in the process of moving guy smiley into the kids room(they will all be sharing a room once the transition is over). This means that I'm also working on getting him sleeping through the night (before we started he would nurse at least 2x a night...last night only once at 6am). And so for now the two older kids are in our room so it stays quiet for both guy smiley and for them. But I do these things so that I am able to get up earlier and get the sleep I need because I want this to be a priority for me.
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