It is no secret that I am not a morning person. According to my parents I have never been a morning person. From a wee babe I stayed up late and then would not wake up in the morning (however, apparently, I would awake prior to then demanding food, a diaper change, or attention– and sometimes all three at once. This information comes from my mother, though, and her hours in labor extend from somewhere between 10 and 72; so, she is perhaps not the most reliable of sources.). So, why would I decide to upset this streak of late risings? I’ll tell you why, for the love of a man. Or at least his parking decal.
See, here at Public U. a parking decal isn’t so much a license to park on campus as it is a license to hunt (for a parking space). This is why I was riding my bike to work. Notice the key word: was. Dr. Man, as a resident, has a kick-ass parking decal. It is the holy grail of parking decals. Angels descended from the heavens and a chorus sang the Hallelujah Chorus when he purchased it. It’s all rainbows and sunshine and it’s a ten minute walk to my lab. Ergo, I ride in with Dr. Man. This is a problem, though, because he, unlike me, has an actual schedule. He has appointments with patients who won’t accept the “Eh, I don’t feel like getting out of bed so do you think we can reschedule this for later?” excuse. He, also, gets paid a real salary. And the Powers That Be expect him to meet with his first patient at 8:00 AM. As in Ante Meridiem.
So, now I wake up at 6:30 AM (again with that stuff) and roll out of bed. And proceed directly to the coffee machine where freshly brewed coffee is waiting for me (God Bless Cuisinart Automatic Grind and Brew). About 20 minutes later I’ve woken up enough to realize that I need to move on to showering/dressing/etc. Somewhere in there I ingest breakfast and pour myself a travel cup of coffee.
After doing this for a few weeks I have found the main advantage of arriving to the lab early: no one else is there. This means that I am free to use any piece of equipment I want and there are no distractions. I have been oh-so-productive prior to noon so far. Then, about noon everyone else trickles in and my day is shot. Well, not shot exactly, but slowed down.
I have also found the main con of this schedule: I could fall asleep by 10 pm most nights.
Okay, so I apologize if this comes off totally bitchy because I’m having a total shit week and I’ve lost all ability to realize if what I’m saying is nasty or not, but OH MY GOD GIRL you have no idea how lucky you are! Seriously! Getting up at 6:30am would be a DREAM COME TRUE! I have been IN the lab by 6:30am every morning everyday for the past like… 3 months! And I have a 25 minute walk to the lab! And this week, I haven’t left the lab any night before midnight!
Also, if you cut out caffeine altogether (I know, it sounds horrid) it will seriously help you in the morning in the long run. I know it sounds miserable, but I had to give up all caffeine because of my migraines, and getting up in the morning is a breeze. I am literally out the door within 15 minutes of my alarm going off in the mornings, no problem!
Cut out caffeine?!?! I think I’d rather put bamboo shoots underneath my fingernails.
I know, I know for most people 6:30am isn’t so bad. What’s hard is adjusting from the 10am (or really the 11am) to 12am (or so) schedule to the 8am till late-ish schedule (I find I can get out earlier due to less congestion, so it’s pretty variable).
My hat is off to you again, because after about 14 hours my brain is mush and I can’t do anything anymore.
I actually like the early schedule (can’t do it with late meetings on short notice in grad school), but the whole “I could go to sleep at 10pm” thing is making me feel pretty old 🙂
I have always been a morning person and found it very advantageous in terms of access to equipment. I also used to be able to wake up late and go to bed early. I am now mush by 7pm. It is amazing the havoc a 19 month boy will do to your mind and body.
Hooray for becoming a morning person. If you remember all my post last year about this you might remember it was hard for me to get back into an early schedule but I feel so much better about myself when I’ve accomplished a lot by lunch. 10pm also sounds like a reasonable time to get to bed, even if you lay and read in bed for a while. Your morning schedule sounds relaxing. When I got up at 630am for my hour morning commute i would just jump out of bed, brush my teeth and go. I would make breakfast at work and eat it and drink coffee while I checked my e-mail and organized my day.
hope you can keep this up.
I am also forced into getting up earlier than I’d like, but can leave the house whenever. It means I get to watch more of the Olympics!
I love being a morning person. I think better in the morning so I’ve always been a morning writer.
The one downfall I’ve found to this is that those who are not morning people want to have meetings starting at 6pm, when I’m done for the day.
HAHAHA…I *know* that N.A. and I became so close so fast because of his amazing parking pass (the one that took a four year waitlist to get!!) 😉
Science Girl: I’m learning to like the early schedule, but I definitely feel old when my in-laws call past 11pm and I’m in bed!
Scientist Mother: Well, I’m not so sure that I want to try the 19 month-old approach to dealing with the morning 😉
Jennie: Yep, I remember and if you can do it… then I can at least try! So far, I’ve found the relaxing schedule to be key in the becoming a morning person. That way I can at least become accustomed to being awake, as opposed to being thrust into it.
Cath@VWXYNot?: More olympics! I forgot about that perk!
Psych Post Doc: I most certainly envy your morning person-ness. I can barely even email in the mornings, let alone write!
Unbalanced Reaction: See, sometimes horrendous parking does work out! 🙂
I have literally been trying to be a morning person for oh, I don’t know, 28 years-ish? My mom says the same things as yours (and is equally unreliable, truth be told) and I buy it. Waking up early is something that makes me feel dead. Sad but true.
You must, you MUST tell me if you manage to succeed.