Post CGW-2 30 Day Trial

[irunthereforeiam]

Hey Guys,
Thank you for being there. Just by being there you guys changed my World for good. I flew back here( Phoenix) last night and spend my day resting and reading a bit. Also decided to start a 30 day trial of going to bed at 10Pm and waking up at 5AM. I will report everyday at the end of the day for next 30 days.
Keep evolving consciously,
Lakshmi

[yoopersmith]

You can do it! We are all pulling for you!!! GO GO GO!!!

[bluelighth]

Enjoy!

[irunthereforeiam]

Hey guys,
Today is technically Day 1 of my 30 day trial and the server did not obey as the Master wanted to. Meaning my alarm went off at 5.00AM, the servant did not want to get up, the master decided to reset the alarm at 6.00AM, the servant did not want to get up again, so the master reset at 7.20AM and then the servant was forced to get up since he has to get to work.

The Master can atribute the reason to not sleeping untill 11.30PM the earlier night. So probably the servant wanted more rest, and perhaps the Master too. So today, I am going to go to bed between 9.45PM - 10.00AM. I am also reseting today as Day 1 of my trial.
Keep evolving consciously,
Lakshmi

[Divajules]

Just wanted to throw out my support too! You can definitely do this!! As Jeff said, GO - GO - GO!!

I think my master is weaker than my servant sometimes.

Stay strong and be patient with yourself. You will get there.

[irunthereforeiam]

Hey Guys,
So today is my day 1 of my 30 day trial of waking up at 5.00AM and today I got up at 5.00AM.
Thanks for all the encouragement and motivation folks. I greatly appreciate it.
Lakshmi

[Holiday]

Nicely done! Keep it up!

Kevin

[irunthereforeiam]

Thanks Kevin,
Nice picture BTW. Is it hot because of the flames from the background??
Lakshmi

[Holiday]

Hehe, thanks Laks. That is, obviously, a "Power Pic" rather than a "Love Pic"

[irunthereforeiam]

Hey Guys,
Today is day 2 and I got up at 5.00Am. Today was little challenging and I used the power of not giving away our power to our excuses and reasons to get up. The story is that yesterday, I got my performance review for the past year and I got so much red all over the place. I was little frustrated with getting a bad review@work( Never had I got so much red in my progress reports starting from Pre KG) and today we are scheduled to have a review meeting with my Manager. So I'm kinda sad and when I woke up at 4.50Am, my first thought was to sleep and numb myself, at least till 7.00Am.

But I decided to wake up and do something...So I woke up and after doing my morning rituals, I read part of a book. I really thought it's a better way to numb myself than sleeping( for those curious of what I read, it is ' War of Art' By Steven Pressfield)...But at the end of the day, I'm happy to get up at 5.00Am.

I'm also starting to add couple of more things to my 30 day trial. They are loosely structured so that I have some flexibility..Will post about them tomorrow.

Thanks for all your encouragement.
Keep Evolving Consciously,
Lakshmi

[PattyK]

More support from over here. Way to go!

[Patrick Ward]

Great job Lakshmi!

One of the methods that helped me switch to an early riser time was to set specific goals for myself in the morning. These were activities I would only allow myself to do in the morning, such as fill out a favorite crossword, read a particular blog, write in my journal, etc.

By giving myself goals I only allowed in the am, it encouraged me to want to get up so I could get to the activities I really enjoyed.

It also allowed me to start working on projects before work, that way I'd already completed several hours of personal project time before I showed up for work, which provided for less distraction while at work.

Yeah, I know, "quit your job!". :-)

[irunthereforeiam]

Patrick,
Thanks for your ideas. Actually today I end up going back to bed after my alarm went off. The reason I figured later is that I did not had any thing planned to do after I get up at 5.00AM. So the master gave command to the servant that there is nothing to do, go rest a bit more..interesting how we make decisions...So I will plan from now on to do something that I enjoy when I get up.
It's also my first weekend..My sleep time is going to be pushed back at least 3 hours. I'm going to see what I gonna do..
Lakshmi

[Patrick Ward]

I have to admit that on the weekends, my early riser status goes off the track a little. But, I don't worry about it. I get up consistently at 4:30am during the week.

Keep working on it! It's been worth it to me. I feel like I get an entire day's worth of work done in the morning sometimes - and that's before I even show up for work. Everyone else is dragging when they get to the office, but I'm already warmed up and ready to go.

[irunthereforeiam]

Hey Guys,
Wanted to give an update for Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, I woke up at 7Am since I went to bed around 1.00PM. On Sunday, I woke up at 5.00AM, read a book for an hour and went back to nap for an hour. I will be back on schedule from tomorrow.
Thanks,
Lakshmi

[irunthereforeiam]

Hey Folks,
Today I woke up at 4.50AM and was lying in bed untill 5.00AM and got up. So day 6 was a success. I wanted to share with you the other two 30 day trials I have been doing with this.
1. Reading Og Mandino's book ' The Greatest Salesman in the World'. It was introduced by Kevin Velasco( yeah..the same guy who called everybody that did not read Steve's book as lazy..;-)))..This book has been an awesome ride. This book has 10 scrolls and anyone who seriously wants to follow this book have to read 1 scroll for 30 days for 3 times/day. So the whole book is ten 30 day trials :-)...And this book is not about sales if you are wondering how it might be applied to you. Thank you Kevin for introducing this book.

2. High Green Low Fat Raw Diet:- My body thrives on greens, but it's easy to go into High Fat Raw Diet (Eating too many raw bars). Since Vegas, I have been eating high green low fat raw diet. I slipped one day eating an Indian Vegan Dish( for those epicurious souls, its called Utthapam and Veggi Korma..) .

So from today, I will document on all these 3 aspects. That day 6 report guys. I have a blog that's been collecting dust for a while..Its time that I start documenting all these trials.

Keep evolving consciously,
Lakshmi

[irunthereforeiam]

Hello all,
Apologize for not updating this thread. I have fallen off my trial for the past 7 days(Since last weekend). I also have a situation @ my job that absorbs all my energy that I was least inclined to do or post about it. Anyways, I plan on resuming my trial from tomorrow(Monday) and be back on track.
Thanks and I missed you all.
Lakshmi

[Patrick Ward]

Stumbling blocks are OK, just remember to dust yourself off and get back on the track. Remember, trial and error is also part of the process! We're pulling for you! :-)

[irunthereforeiam]

Patrick,
Thanks for your encouragement. Actually yesterday today was not that bad, but it still wasn't on dot. Yesterday, I woke up at 5.00AM - brushed my teeth, had some water and sat on my reading chair and napped for 1/2 hour.

Today I woke up at 4.40AM without alarm. Stayed in bed till 5.15. Then got up and went into my day.

I'm thinking about switching to 5.30AM. I think that will give me little more rest and about time to go to work.

Thanks for the support. I now feel that I have to do (whatever) and report to you guys.

Thanks

[irunthereforeiam]

Today was a success. Setting up time for 5.30AM seems to be working out well for me. I will update tomorrow.
I'm curious to know what is everybody's trials?? I know Patrick is writing blog post everyday(Awesome patrick..LinchPin~ By Seth Godin could be an awesome boost to your 30 day trial. He offers a scientific way of why we are giving our power away and how we can over come it).
What are your trials guys? Even if you are planning to do one, please share..The power of social support/accountability will catapult you to the next level.

[Patrick Ward]

Thanks for the book recommendation! I have to admit (hides face), I've never really read any of Seth Godin's books. Everyone I know reads them and so I guess I'll have to add him to the book pile soon.

Keep going with the trial and error. Eventually, you'll find what works best for you.

[marwanb]

Lakshmi,

A few thoughts:

1) Why are you undertaking this trial? It seems to me that you are unclear about your reason(s) for waking up early. "...I did not had any thing planned to do after I get up at 5.00AM.".

2) Have you considered progressively working your way towards waking up at your desired time? You might achieve consistent success if you implement a progressive schedule.

So...make a point of setting your alarm for 0730 and waking up at that time. If you can do that, then set it back by ten minutes and try to wake up at that time. Repeat until you reach your goal.

3) A couple of times now, when you woke up at your desired time, you ended up going back to sleep shortly afterwards:

" I woke up at 5.00AM, read a book for an hour and went back to nap for an hour."

" I woke up at 5.00AM - brushed my teeth, had some water and sat on my reading chair and napped for 1/2 hour."

Napping shortly after awaking could be due to a variety of reasons, including:

i) You're boring yourself by reading right after awaking. Maybe you should go for a walk to energize yourself. You can listen to an audiobook while doing so (exercise AND "reading"? score!). Get your blood flowing!

ii) You aren't getting refreshing sleep (of course).

a) Read this article on bi-phasic sleep and sleep cycles

(Biphasic Sleep : 30 Day Summary - Straight to the Bar).

You might find that by having afternoon naps you can avoid your early-morning naps. Your duration of naps matters, too.

b) Caffeine? (Presence of, not lack of )

iii) Lack of a reason to stay up, which is a false reason altogether. See the first point.

Keep us updated, Lakshmi.

[irunthereforeiam]

Marwan,
You observations are spot on. You have an eye and analytical bend of mind for pulling some commonalities. You are right about the fact that I'm boring myself to do something or not having strong reason to get up at 5.00AM. Only reason I want to get up at 5.00AM(now it's 5.30AM) is to go to work early and give myself more time to prepare myself. Right now, I'm focusing all my energy on Work, so I'm no so inclined to do anything other than that.

Off late I have been practising meditation which is kinda cheating since it's semisleep after I wakeup.

But the idea of going for a walk sounds very refreshing. It's ideally cold and crispy weather here at my place. So I will make that adjustment. Thanks again for the idea. I think its a great one.

To update, last thursday and friday has been easy getting up at 5.30AM. With introducing walking, I think its going to be even more easy.
Thanks,
Lakshmi

[irunthereforeiam]

Hey Guys,
In the spirit of implementing my walk plan in the morning, I decided to go for a walk. Just for fun, I also decided that I'm gonna find a penny during my walk. So I set out with that intention. I was walking around the block and I was looking in the floor all the time searching for a penny. I was almost about 3/4 th of the walking distance and my hopes started slimming. But I just decided to pursue and still kept looking for it. After few yards, I found my first penny lying on the side. I was pretty happy. Yea, its a penny, but it's still the Universe's answering of my intention. Now, I also got greedy here to see if Universe would answer my another intention of giving me another penny before I get to my apartment.
So I started looking around and this time. I looked all the way and still could not find one. As was I climbed the stairs of my house and I still kept looking...Still looking. I'm just about to enter my apartment and I still haven't found the 2nd penny. I lost hopes and just When I'm about to enter my apartment, I was thinking may be, there might be a penny at the entrance of my neighbor's apartment. So I turned around a bit and started looking and VOILA...I found the 2nd penny. Stoked..
This could be a penny which hardly anybody cares, but it's an answer to Einstein's question ' Is this a friendly Universe ?.
Thanks,
Lakshmi

[Polina]

It has been a week and no further updates yet? We are all eager to find out how you are going now that you have made further adjustments to your trial. What about the other 2 trials, how have they been progressing?

[irunthereforeiam]

Hey Guys,
I apologize for not being able to post. My work situation demanded lots of focus and energy that I just could not focus on consistent trials or reporting about it. I did however found out what works and had created a daily habit of walking in the morning for 30 mins after I get up.

So today I was walking around my block and it was cold out and I just had a shorts and a t shirt. So I was having a defensive body language and through the walk I was thinking(or worrying) with respect to my work situation and what actions plans that I can do to come out of this situation(FYI, I was asked to improve my performance within a month since my performance dipped). I was walking with my heads down and I was passing a bus stop.

Out of nowhere a loud voice came..'LOOK UP'. It came a couple of times for me to figure out who is shouting. And I noticed that it's from a homeless person asking me to look up and never put my head down..By habitual conditioning I first tried to ignore what he said, thinking it's some kind of trick or what not..but few seconds later it so dawned upon me. WOW..a homeless person sitting in bus stop in a cold morning has this atitude of carrying himself around the World with a 'Head Held High'..and I'm worrying about job and crap..I thanked that guy and started to look up.

I was just taken away by this experience. It also provided me a perspective of how much gratitude that homeless person is having and how much I don't...

Look Up..

Lakshmi

[Eloy]

Good story Lakshmi. Walking early is a great idea. Thanks for sharing this.
Cheers, Eloy

[Polina]

Amazing story Lakshmi,

Love and support to you in deal with work challenges, a remember to always focus on how you would like things to be instead of thinking of how they currently are, so "look up" in your mind as well as your body =)


Polina

[icesar]

Hey, best of luck! I did a similar trial last year and kept it up for several (very productive) months. It's definitely worth it. Now if could only get off these forums at 1 in the morning...