A few weeks ago I realized how close we were to the school year beginning. Part of me was (and still is) very nervous and stressed about going back to school after a year of leave and with the pandemic still in full swing here in the US. Uncertainty makes it much more nerve- racking. These are trying times for those who work in healthcare, foodservice, education, and anyone who has to come in contact with others on a daily basis.
While the pandemic in the States is an entirely different conversation, it definitely influences my daily choices. This week I decided it was time I started getting up early and utilizing the extra hours in my morning. My part-time job has been giving me more hours than I thought, which I am grateful for, but it definitely pulls me away from doing other things that are more important for my goals.
So here’s how I became an early bird (again):
During school I found it was easy to get up and go to work at 4am and then go to the gym, go to class and be home by 10pm to eat and go to bed, just to do it all again the next day. It was out of pure necessity that I would get up early, use any and all free time to finish my work, and still feel accomplished at the end of the day. So let’s try getting into that habit again.
Because I am going to graduate school for music, there are a few entrance exams that I have to take in order to decide whether I should be placed in a review class, or go straight into the first level classes. While I don’t want to have to take this review class, I won’t be devastated if I do. The biggest reason I don’t want to be put into this class is to save time and money. So it’s time to start studying!!
Here is how my first week went (and how it looked on paper afterwards):
Sunday night I made this decision to wake up early. And I do mean early. About 5-5:30pm. I made a “to-do” list and prioritized which should get done first. I laid all the work I wanted to get done out on my desk with my computer and ipad ready to go.
Set up is so important. I don’t want to have to make it a hassle in the morning and waste my time!
Monday:
This morning I woke up at 5:15am, brushed my teeth, went downstairs, made coffee and prepped my water bottle (I added some lime to really wake me up; it was super refreshing), and I hustled back upstairs to start my morning.
I made this wake up routine pretty quick. I didn’t want to give myself time to look at my phone or dilly dally. I usually brew a pour over coffee, and it felt really nice to make one so early in the morning. It did give me some down time so I made a mental note to bring a notebook down next time and start myself off with some positive writing. It could be anything from adding to my gratitude page, or adding another goal to my lists, or even just writing my intent for how I want my day to go.
Once I got upstairs it was time to get to work. I left my phone charging across the room and pulled out the notes I wanted to study for the day. I’ve been trying to digitize all my old undergrad. notes but since I also wanted to use them as study guides, instead of scanning them, I have been rewriting them and typing them up. I used two apps for note taking. OneNote and Notability.
OneNote is great! It is a note taking app with Microsoft that syncs up the notes on my Macbook and my iPad. Not to mention, depending on where I am taking my notes, it will update the section I am working on in real time. (this is not sponsored btw). Notability is another note taking app on my iPad that I started using when I tried to go paperless two years ago. I really like using it for freehand writing and just being a little artsy about my notes. I prefer writing over typing, though typing is usually faster. That being said, I am a visual learner so when I take notes there are a lot of arrows, pictures, and colors being used. It can look kind of crazy, so I love that I can easily change things on my ipad with either app.
I won’t bore you with the rest of the details, but I will say I tried not to take any breaks while I was studying. I went from around 5:45am to 10:30am with just bathroom breaks. I was really determined this day, and while I usually study in increments and take breaks (about 5 to 15 minute breaks), I wanted to try something new to see if it would work better. And it did! Of course this won’t work for everyone, but this is what I found works for me. I changed subjects about every 40 minutes to an hour just to spice things up. I ended my day around 10pm. 6 hours of sleep is a minimum for me and I learned that the hard way.
Tuesday:
So we had some trouble this day, but I did get up early. It was just a little later than I wanted to. I got up around 6am and that’s okay. It’s still early and I still have plenty of time to drink my coffee and get things done. I didn’t want to stress myself out by putting pressure on little things that aren’t that important (like thirty extra minutes of sleep). So I continued on with another day of work and spent about four hours studying before I left to go about my day.
This day really put into perspective what I was trying to accomplish. My goals from Sunday were the same and my priorities had shifted slightly to get some other life things done (i.e. bills, emails. etc.).
Wednesday:
Ok. So the last two days were very long. I didn’t get to sleep as early as I needed to for my body to wake up early and feel rested Tuesday night. Lots of video calls with friends and mental health moments I had to prioritize so bed time was pushed back till about 11:30/12am. Not to mention my Thea Flow (Aunt Flow, the red tide, whatever you call her) decided to join the party and I had to get to work way earlier than normal.
So I took a day off for myself. It was a tough mental day, along with everything else. Because of this, I gave myself the break my body and mind deserved. I decided that night to create a new list of goals for the next few days in order to get back on track.
Thursday:
BACK AT IT BABES! Wednesday was rough BUT I was back to work and feeling pretty good about it. I was able to finish a lot of the list I created on Sunday and I was feeling really energized to continue my good work. There was less time to study today (early work day), but overall I did what I could in my time frame and I was feeling positive.
This week was all about finishing the list I made on Sunday. By Thursday, I was almost there and ate at that list each day little by little to be able to complete each task. Instead of trying to finish them in one day (which I know will not bode well for my mental health and overall energy when working). Like I said before, small goals are easier to do than big ones, and make you feel just as accomplished. Everyday I looked at the big list for the week and decided what small goals needed to be done in the medium/larger goals (i.e. am I taking notes? If so, how many pages will I complete today? Am I editing posts? If so, should I expect a single or double read through? Etc. Rather than “ I am to finish all 40 pages of notes in the three to four hours I have given myself to work.” ← This is unrealistic. Focus on what CAN get done and you will be just fine.
Friday:
I woke up just a half hour later than my intended 5:30am. I still made my coffee and drank my water before going upstairs to work. I finished my list of things to accomplish for the week and tied it up nicely with a bow. Any extra time I had this day, I used to educate myself on some current events and news.
This is your reminder to educate yourself on different topics, whether it’s new government policies, women’s rights, eco-positive changes you can make, LGBTQ+ and BLM, Native American history, or so many other things that you maybe just haven’t thought about researching, but are huge topics that can evoke change in the world. Keep learning. Don’t just stop and listen to what is being told to you. ACTIVELY search for these topics from trusted and factual resources. Ok? OK!
Saturday and Sunday I decided to sleep in and take a well deserved break. I don’t usually work on the weekends so I knew that I had time to catch up on work or practice these days, without having to make a huge amount of time in the morning.
Sunday night I made my new list, set up my desk with my notes and tasks for the week, set my alarm, and tried my best to go to sleep at a decent hour.
The following week came up fast, and we got back to it, doing the work, and moving towards another successful week of crushing our goals.
If you enjoyed this weekly overview, let me know!
If you happen to be a night owl like Izzy and this sounds utterly ridiculous, that’s okay! You do you! Let us know if you’re a morning bird or a night owl? What way of working has the best outcome for YOU? Don’t hesitate to ask us anything and keep up the good work!