So it’s over now, the experiment has completed and I did it*!
21 days of getting up at 4.30 am
The experiment
It was hard! especially in week 2! Week 1, I was able to offset the impact by being interested and excited by doing the experiment, week 2, I was feeling the drag and felt the impact of the change, week 3, I felt amazing and could see the value of the change. But getting to week 3 did take some effort.
The effort was not only on me, it did impact on my family too, my Husband had his sleep disrupted when I got up, the dogs had their routines changed by me being up early and then walking them more, and longer. Nothing that was a show stopper, but it was not an event that went un-noticed in our house.
The results
I have had the best week that I have had in a very long time! I am feeling happier, less stressed, more comfortable in my own skin and far less under the pump. I dont feel like I am fighting to find time to do the things I want to do. I feel far more in control of my time and my energy.
I have learned that it is about balance and filling up the right buckets in your life to give you, and those around you, what they need. It’s about awareness, its about input and output, and it’s about deliberate practice. I have become very aware of time, the value of it, and how I spend it. As a totally non-renewable resource I now see it as being very precious and I resist the temptations to waste it. I am focusing on getting value out of as much of it as I can.
I have redefined value as well. Introvert Recovery Time (IRT) is a phrase I have learned from following the Agile 2017 Conference in Orlando Florida this week (another bonus of #21earlydays). I now know how vital IRT is to me! I need/must make time for this in my life.
The outcomes
- I have been a happier person
- I have been better to live with
- I have been a better leader to my team (I think anyway…)
- I have written more blogs and papers
- I have followed a conference in a different time zone closely
- I have baked more pies, cakes, biscuits than ever
- I have walked over 40 kms with the dogs (not all at once)
- I have learned amazing thing (about myself and about others)
- I have achieved a challenge I set myself!
I have achieved not only the challenge of getting up early for 21 days in a row, I have learned new things, and found new ways of doing other things. I have also discovered the value of trying new things and applying them for a period of time. I’m really happy with the outcome of this experiment*!
Now, onto the next one!
*Be aware that confirmation bias colours ever aspect of this post!
enterprisingagility.com 