The Morning Routine Experimentations
At the beginning of 2020, I had the privilege of reading a book called “the 5 AM Club” by Robin Sharma.
Now if you’re a self-help enthusiast like me, you must be aware of this book’s popularity and informativeness. It tells you about different models that can help you live a better life by waking up at 5 AM every day and following the 20/20/20 rule. If you don’t know about this rule, please read the book, it’s an eye-opener, quite literally.
Before I get into this article, I just want to clarify that I didn’t read this book with the intention of becoming more productive and all those shenanigans. Frankly, I don’t even remember why I bought this book but I was bored and I needed something to read that didn’t involve romance (although this book has a pinch of it) and vampires and werewolves (you know which book(s) I’m talking about). And then this book just arbitrarily altered my life.
Waking at 5 AM
I tried to wake up at 5 AM for about a week and failed miserably. After a few days, when I managed to wake up somehow, I couldn’t stick to the 20/20/20 rule- doing 20 minutes of exercise, 20 minutes of meditation, and 20 minutes of learning/reading. By the time I was done with the first 20 minutes I was already dreading the 20 minutes of meditation- I just couldn’t bring myself to focus because my heart was hammering in my chest and my lungs were on fire. Maybe it works for most people- I am glad that it does- but my body just couldn’t habituate itself to the routine. Clearly, in conclusion, it failed for me.
Not to mention how tired I felt during the afternoons because I’d woken up so early. I don’t want to sound like a bit*h so I do want to DECLARE that after the first 20 minutes I felt awake and very much energized, even though the energy waned with time. Nevertheless, it made me realize that I loved waking up when no one in my family was awake. I absolutely loved the silence and the darkness of my room (I am a tad bit eccentric, unapologetically) so I decided I’d give this another try.
Waking at 5 30
I’m jumping to my final attempt here because I don’t want to bore you with the details about my various failed attempts. I tried waking up at 6 but by that time the Sun was already rising and everything was bright and I didn’t quite like that. I wanted to be up before the Sun being the competitive Indian woman that I am so I decided to wake up at 5 30. And voila! It worked perfectly for me.
Suffice to say, I didn’t follow the rules mentioned in the book BUT I implemented some of it in my morning routine with a few tweaks.
As soon as I woke up I meditated for about 20 minutes using Headspace and then journaled for a few minutes- I don’t necessarily journal every morning, whenever I have to purge or jot down something that is nagging me- and between 6 to 7 AM I read a book. This routine was perfect for me, so much so that I have been following it for the past couple of months effortlessly.
I find myself being more productive, more energized, and calm. As for the afternoon slumber, I take a 20 minutes power nap. It helps me re-awaken and freshens my mind for the tasks ahead that evening: usually working out, sometimes cooking dinner, reading, and sleeping.
Regardless of what influencers say about morning routines, it is important to listen to your own body and mind. It is important to experiment with different times, different rituals, and routines that your body can adjust to. If it cannot, do not force it.
The morning routine requires minimal energy since it is supposed to be automatic (overtime), therefore if it requires too much energy to get out of bed, to move your body that early in the morning, realize that your morning routine may begin a little later according to your health. It is okay to sleep in if your body needs it, to abandon your routine once in a while, as long as you know how to jump back in.
