My parents both had the habit of going off to work at the end of the day and returning home the next day. They did this for a reason. If you have children, I’m sure you get that. But it’s important to note that this is a good way to develop a habit of going off and getting yourself in to bed a little earlier than you need to (and I’m not suggesting you do this every night).
It’s not that you don’t have to go to bed earlier (or sleep longer), but if you do then you have to be sure that you don’t get into a habit of staying up too late or sleeping in too late. If you get into a habit like this then you will be able to maintain that habit for a while.
The good news is that if you want to develop a habit of going off and getting yourself in to bed early and staying up late, then getting your bedroom organized can be a great start. My husband and I have a pretty clean space right now, but it would be great if we could get our beds organized a little bit better this year, so we can stay out later.
Sure, a quick and dirty change could do it, but it would be a big change to make, and it would take a lot of work. It would be much easier to just get your bed organized, then just set aside an hour and a half before bedtime to clean up.
It’s a great idea. One of the best I’ve encountered is a bedtime routine that I’ve created that consists of you setting a timer, and then the bedtime routine starts. You either go to bed and make it a habit, or you don’t. It’s easy to get the hang of it, and it gives you a little more control over your own schedule. Try it, and report back.
Another idea I’ve seen, and one that’s worked a lot for me, is to set a timer for yourself. While you’re sleeping, you can set your clock to go off at a certain time, and then have a set time in mind that you want to be ready to go to bed and get ready for the next day.
If you set your clock to go off at a certain time of the day, you will often find yourself in a position where you can have a “window of opportunity” to make a decision that will impact your day. We call these windows of opportunity “steps” in order to make them more flexible, because they can be adjusted as needed. So think of it as a way to say “I’m ready to take a step to make a decision that will impact my life.
The easiest way to get steps in at home is to keep a watch for your wake-up call. If you notice that you’ve fallen asleep and don’t wake up for an hour, you have a window in which to take a step that will impact your day. You can also make a plan for the day, keeping one piece of information in mind each time you set your alarm.
If you wake up at 5AM, take a few steps to get your day started. If you wake up at 10AM, take a few steps to get your day started. If you wake up at 1AM, take a few steps to get your day started.
The problem with this step-by-step process is that it can be very effective or just plain inefficient depending on your circumstances. If you wake up and you have no idea what you have to do to get your day started, then your step(s) won’t matter. But if you wake up and you know exactly what to do to get your day started, then you can get it done.