Project: Waking Up Early…Day 1

Waking Up Early, YAWN…
My latest project, waking up early. For most people, this is a normal part of life, a part I’ve chosen to ignore unless it was necessary. In my quest for greater productivity, I have decided it was time to make this a habit. For the next 30 days, weekends included, I decided to wake up no later than 7:30 am.

Day 1 – July 20, 2010
6:00 am:
I woke up, read Mashable on my phone, then got ready to drop my daughter off at school.

7:00 am:
I went back to the house, then texted my sister to let her know I needed to wait for my parents to return from church so I could take them to breakfast for my dad’s birthday. We had breakfast at IHOP and I have to say having crepes for breakfast was a great way to start the day, plus my dad was happy we got an early start to his birthday celebration. My sister gave my dad a heartfelt card that he later scanned and posted to his Facebook wall. Yes, my dad is on Facebook and he knows how to use it, he posts pictures, sometimes updates his status, and “likes” stuff. No, I didn’t get my dad a heartfelt card, instead I posted a coffee on his wall HOURS before my sister’s to wish him a happy birthday from his favorite daughter. My sister Czarina later posted her birthday greeting, then tried to say she was the favorite daughter, followed by my baby sister Michelle who claimed she was the MOST FAVORITE daughter. They clearly copied me because I’m the favorite.

Following breakfast, we had stopped by a local farmer’s market. We got there a little after 8:30 in the morning, I was surprised at how early it was and fortunately, the owner let us shop before they opened at 9 am. We got some Rainier cherries, peaches (my favorite), kettle corn, and watermelon, then went to Blockbuster to rent movies since my dad wanted a lazy day for his birthday. When we got to Blockbuster, my mom asked my dad to check to see if it was open, it didn’t even open until 10 am. I KNEW there was a reason I never got up early! Shortly, after 9 am, we are back at the house and I was at my desk getting some work done.

11:00 am
I went to the gym, did the 11 am yoga class, followed by a 35 minute run to complete week 2 of the 5k101 podcast. The 5k101 podcast gets a beginning runner to run a 5k (3.2 miles) in 8 weeks using interval training. The podcast has a music track and a guy that tells you warm up, then walk, or run depending on the interval. He also gives reminders when there is a minute left during a running interval help with motivation. Using this podcast has helped me get back into running and still feel good the next day.

11:30 pm
I passed out at about 11:30 pm, while I was texting.

Day 2 – July 21
11:30 am Woke up (#fail). My body decided to reset to its’ normal waking time. My alarm is set for 6:00 am everyday so stay tuned.