About 2 weeks ago, I had committed to change my shameful adult struggle of not waking up when I am supposed to .I had my heart and mind set to get this done but as it always is (with me atleast) I did not think the whole plan through.

What would have been week 1 and 2 of the challenge, had me on leave from work, staying up nights preparing for my master's exam. I would study all night, write my paper at 11AM and sleep once I was back home at about 3PM. The routine was a mess, but thankfully, my papers weren't. Once I was done with the exams, I was ready to commit to the challenge. 

I resumed normal life this Monday, that is 2nd, and yesterday completed the first 5 days of the challenge. Here's an account of how the week went.

I was resuming work after a break of almost two weeks, so I was fairly motivated to get up when the alarm rang. I incentivised myself with some great coffee and to my utmost delight, grinding beans manually happened to be the best wake-me-uper ever! The action + aroma of ground coffee was enough to get me out of my daze. Good start!

Breakfast: Garlic Kale Oats

Activities: Made coffee, cooked and ate breakfast,  got dressed properly...eyeshadow and all!

I was on the phone till 430AM the previous night (ahem) so I was pleasantly surprised when I could wakeup on time without much drama. I had refridgerated a portion of the breakfast from day before AND had some ground coffee left. I think the fact that I had less chores helped ease my brain. 

Breakfast: Garlic Kale Oats

Activities: Made coffee, heated breakfast, packed lunch, got dressed properly (as in ironed my shirt, brushed my hair...that kinda stuff) 

{did you just judge me there? Oh please don't! I usually spruce up on my way, I swear!}

Again, a night of late call with the bestie. Woke up quiet groggy. 

Breakfast: Blueberry Kale Smoothie

Activities: Made smoothie, got dressed (no makeup)

Breakfast: In Office

Activities: Quick shower and dash  

I woke up naturally this morning, that is without an alarm and was pleasantly surprised (shocked, really) to note the time. I was happy to observe that I wasn't groggy and wanting to go back to sleep. (whaaaaaaa!) Yet, I chose to roll in bed until my mom called around 8 to gush about the flowers I'd sent them.
My parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary yesterday and I am so thrilled about this. They've had what I'd call an ideal marriage- full of love, support, respect, challenges, hardships and yes, lots of disagreements. Their love for each other is palpable and they've set the best #marriagegoals for me to look up to. I was a little bummed that I wasn't there but I did my best to make their day special from far...you know flowers, cake, having the extended family over for a surprise dinner...that kinda thing

Breakfast: Eggs on toast

Activities: Spoke to mom, made coffee, cooked breakfast, watched the news (WAHOW!), got dressed properly

Instead of cutting back 15 mins as per plan, I woke up FULL 60 MINUTES early almost everyday, which is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Yet I am not 100% convinced that this will be routine from now on. Therefore, my week 2 agenda is to stick to waking up at 8AM and make sure this retains

I also went to bed between 1 and 2AM (430AM on Tuesday) so its understandable that I did not wake up fresh as a daisy. But I am starting to think that people wake up like this only in TV commercials...


I don't remember a single morning when I woke up without heavy eyelids and a stiff body and a (strong) desire to just stay in bed. I have always been an indulgent sleeper and I really would just stay asleep till 4PM on any given day, if I have the choice. That I will some day start waking up daisy fresh and go like this is probably never going to happen and in light of this revelation, I am getting into the idea that waking myself up is something I need to actively achieve. 

A key step in achieving this is to not dwell on the sleepiness ('but I was up late!' 'just one snooze' 'maybe I will just lie with my eyes shut for 5 minutes, that's not sleeping!') and divert the mind to some task. Cue, coffee grinding! I am telling you, this is genius.

I also observed that because I am so used to waking up and dashing, I was not very great at managing the extra hour I had at hand. Which means I was still late to work. Bummer.

Deciding what to wear is a real time eater. Must be addressed night before. 

#1 Maintain wake up time at 8AM
#2 Aim to leave home by 915

#3 Start ahead by packing lunch and setting out clothes the night before

#4 Try and set a bedtime

#5 Should I try to set aside 10 minutes each morning for self care? Anything from meditation, stretching or a quick HIIT workout like this ---------------------------------------------------}

Or is that being too ambitious?

We'll know soon I guess.