One of my dearest friends shared an excellent article with me recently. The article suggests five things to do, which only take thirty to forty-five minutes out of our daily schedule for starting a productive day:
- Instead of procrastinating, jump out of bed at the time you want to get up.
- Warm up your body with light exercise, yoga, or even stretching.
- Jog your mind with some motivational and/or inspiring reading.
- Think of how you want your day to be. Preferably maintain a journal.
- Have a proper breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day.
When I read this list, I realized that I have been raised to do all of these things, except for 1 and 4. Back at home, my father always stressed on maintaining a daily schedule which included wake-up and curfew time. Now that I am on my own, I oversleep by one to one and a half hour the last of my fifteen alarms set at fifteen minutes interval every single day. To make the matters worse, I never make a schedule or think of what I want to do with the wonderful twenty-four hours I have at my disposal.
As for the rest of the to-do things, the credit goes to my amazing responsible parents. They have always ensured that we say our morning prayers (Fajr) and recite Holy Quran, even if it’s a single ayah. Saying Fajr warms up body and takes away all the stress and concerns, and reading the holy book imparts wisdom, intellectual curiosity, inspiration, and peace. Even if you don’t contemplate over what you have read, the words become a part of your subconsciousness and the good thoughts take home with your mind and soul.
I have tried dealing with the snoozing-problem. I have tried the alarm applications with puzzles. These application don’t allow turning off alarm unless you have aced the small challenge (mathematical, linguistic, graphical) presented to you. The problem with such applications is the puzzles are way too simple for the brain. At least, I can solve them while sleeping. I can also sleep with a band marching down my street, or my alarm going crazy as long as I don’t have a room- or apartment-mate who might get disturbed.
See the challenge? Story of my life!
I have come to understand that here I am the one who has the power. I have to decide on getting up on time. It is not easy, I agree. It needs to be done, and I have an old school solution. Before you close your eyes to sleep, say to yourself “[Your Name], wake me up at [the time you want to get up]”. For instance, “Shazia Javed, wake me up at 8:00 AM.” When you say it, say with conviction. Say it like you mean it. Say it like you own yourself. Say it like you are in control over yourself. This is a tried and tested method. It works if done properly. Why? Simple. You are consciously registering a task for your brain to do with mutual consensus.
The second challenge for me comes with a domino effect. The lack of daily plan or vision for myself translates to no goals, to-do list, and schedule at all. My days end with no sense of achievement. Time has become a large continuous medium with no boundaries or limits to float in. The situation is destructive for my faith, confidence, and self-esteem at personal level. At social level I am turning into a useless burden on this planet.
This has to end.
I can address the problem in my head. I don’t need to maintain a journal. But, guess what, when you commit something orally or in written form it becomes part of reality, your reality. Not only in sound waves, or ink and paper, but also as part of your consciousness. Therefore, I think it is important to be expressive, especially if it does you good.
The author recommends maintaining a journal. If you dread writing down things or just don’t have the time and/or skills, you can simply start with talking to your parents, partner, friends, or anyone who is sincere and capable of listening and talking back. Talk about what you would like to achieve, how you plan to go about it. Then go off and do the things you just discussed. Come back and talk about what did you manage and how did you feel about it. Talk about what didn’t get through, why, and what can be done. Think of how what you do today can be part of your tomorrows. Ask for help if you need it, when you need it. There is no shame in that.
Shame is in becoming a useless sack of potatoes, that too because you failed to manage and control yourself and your decisions.
I intend to listen to the author. Along the timeline I would share few good stories for open discussion here. The posts will talk about the significant challenges I face and the approach(es) I adopt to make a difference in my life. So, stay tuned. Who knows we might find faith, courage, hope, and/or even inspiration in each other’s words!