Early Rising and Time Crunches?

[ktox]

I was searching the web about how to convert my current erratic sleep pattern into one where I get up early. I'm in the 2nd semester of a pretty demanding masters program and would like to be able to take care of my body and mind as well as keep up at school. I do believe there are enough hours in the day to do this. However, I don't seem to be using them very well. I often must stay up until anywhere from 11pm to 3am (or later, during crunch times) and then get up at 7-8am. This simply isn't working for me. When I do get to bed at a decent hour, I end up still sleeping in to 8 or 9 am. In order to get some much needed exercise and personal time, getting up at 5 and going to bed at 11 or so would seem much healthier. I have tried the pattern of being very committed the night before, setting my alarm for 5am and then pressing the snooze button for a full 3 hours the next morning...any ideas?

[shant121]

Oops I was in the same boat as you...and am working to overcome that challenge!

you sort of answered it yourself :P ("I do believe there are enough hours in the day to do this. However, I don't seem to be using them very well.") . besides the many blog posts that Steve has written to overcome these issues, here is my take on it.

if you had a job like i do now, there is no option but to wake up early. and i do, irrespective of what time i sleep, the wakeup time is always 7 ish. being a grad student, you have the option to 'snooze'...you need to jsut make a decision to get up at a certain time, take away the snooze luxury. keep the alarm clock as far away from your bed as possible.

keeping very busy and productive during the day really helps. Plan the day and stay very focused on getting things done. keep a notebook of things to be done. else you'll chat, browse then net and generally waste time doing unncecessary things. you are suddenly overwhelmed in the evening by all the work that needs to be accomplished and that keeps you awake. make a realistic plan to finish it and stick to the plan.

and read Steve's blog. he has tons of tips. keep reading till you figure out whats best for you.

take care of ur health, eat well. that is more important than research and research papers

p.s. All the best!

[ahimel]

I'd recommend a more gradual approach. You're trying to go from an 8AM wakeup time to a 5AM wakeup time. This isn't a (so to speak) overnight change.

I'm guessing that even on the days you do manage to get up at 5 AM, you're groggy all day, can't concentrate, do poorly on your schoolwork, and check the clock every 15 minutes to calculate how long until you can go to bed. Your body, like a puppy or a surly teenager, is pouting and whining and trying to convince you that it's being horribly abused. Given the consequences of getting up early (utter inability to do the things you normally do, much less extra work) you begin to have serious doubts about this entire rising early thing. Depending on where you live, it may still be full dark at 5 in the morning, and centuries of evolution tell you to go back to bed.

If you want to do it all at once, you really need (a) willpower of steel, (b) an impatient boss waiting for you, or (c) someone standing by with ice water to ensure you get up with your alarm every single day until it becomes a habit. This means at least a couple weeks of utter misery every day until your body adjusts.

I would instead try setting your alarm for 7:45, and get up at that time. Once you've done that for a week, it should be pretty easy for you. Then set it for 7:30. By the end of the month, you'll have gained yourself an hour, made noticeable progress towards your goal, and be feeling better about yourself and your ability to even reach this goal.

I'm guessing you've already read Steve's article on How to Become an Early Riser, but here's the link just in case.