Good Morning - Good Night!

I have met only one person in my entire life who literally bounced out of bed (okay besides my children, I am talking adults here).  That is my friend Amanda.  From birth, until now, she whips off the covers, bounds out of bed, hands deep into a project immediately with passion and zing!  When we had our girly sleepovers, the sun would peak through the night and Amanda would be eggs into homemade pancakes and I was still head down in my pillow, wiping the sleep from my eyes. 

But my guess is that the majority of us are sleep deprived.  We generally crash into bed at night and wake up groggy in the morning.  I however have learned over the years (still practicing mind you) that there are two important routines, slash that word; I should say ‘commitments’ that we should ensue before and after bed.  Why? 

1. If practiced our quality of sleep will improve
2. Once you determine if you are a night owl or a morning bird, you will learn to work ‘with’ your body and not against it
3. You Maximize your highest level of learning

Good Nights

Having a good routine or commitment before bed is essential.  Taking this time each night allows you to prioritize your goals, and enhance your sleep knowing that today’s actions contributed to those goals and tomorrow’s action items are listed in your calendar.

• Review your schedule for the next day
• Cross off what you accomplished that day and pat yourself on the back.
• We are often too hard on ourselves feeling that we did not accomplish enough, but take 3 minutes to reflect on some your thoughts from the day, revelations, decisions made, love expressed, assignments accomplished, phone calls made, loads of laundry done, and feel good about what you completed that day. 
• Slow down!  In preparation for your bed time, plan what time you want to go to bed and one hour before, shut down your computer, look over your to do list, wash your face, brush your teeth, put on your favourite jammies, listen to your favourite calming CD, have a cup of tea, kiss your children, snuggle with your spouse, do some stretching and THEN climb into bed with your favourite book.
• Do not stay up late watching TV, playing on the internet, responding to e-mail.
• Close the day calmly and slowly, shut your brain down, slow your body down and your body will cooperate and replenish itself as you have just prepared it to.

Good Mornings

So if you are like anyone except for my friend Amanda, you generally wake up in the morning not fully awake, a little clumsy, foggy and not completely alert. Apparently this time frame in the morning occurs 1-2 hours after awaking. It is known as the Alpha State. Meaning, you are awake, conscious, but not at that fully awake state known as the Beta State. In your Alpha State, your brain waves and physical movement are at it’s slowest of the day – but in fact you are at the highest level of learning receptivity.  Children are often in the Alpha State. Studies show that while in the Alpha State you can double your learning rate. So use this time first thing in the morning to ingrain daily habits that will set the mood of your day. 

• Try to get up earlier than anyone in the house so you can have peace and quiet.
• Don’t turn on the radio, don’t turn on the T.V. 
• Get out of bed, wash your face, brush your teeth, shower (whatever you need to do), and take the first 15 minutes of your day to visualize and focus on what you want to accomplish and what mood you want to set for the day.  Write in your journal; see yourself accomplishing your goals.
• Read some positive and uplifting messages, say your mantras, listen to an educational or motivational CD’s, say your prayers, read something healthy.
• Take 15 minutes to stretch, go for a walk, water your flowers, watch the birds, or admire a leaf!  When was the last time you studied a leaf?  I bet you were 9!
• Have breakfast
• Begin your day

By maximizing that one hour in your Alpha State you have taken control of your mind, your body, your spirit and your environment!  You have taken the time to fill your energy tank and you now have the stamina and fuel to confidently navigate your day!

Two simple commitments in the morning and evening will help you to accomplish more, to maintain positivity, accomplish the goals you envisioned you would and perhaps like Amanda (so maybe not at 5 am) but you too can demonstrate a little passion and zing, hands deep in the projects you love!

Last 5 posts by Amy Ewart

• It's not just about Outsourcing...it's about a Lifestyle! - May 30th, 2007
• Roll with it!! - November 24th, 2006
• In Just 5 minutes... - October 29th, 2006
• Stop trying so hard... - October 14th, 2006
• Solo-E's - Entrepreneur of the Year Award - Nominate Now! - August 23rd, 2006

This entry was posted on Monday, July 10th, 2006 at 7:09 pm and is filed under Solo Entrepreneur Lifestyle, Self Employed Work Habits. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.