5 am club

I joined the 5 am club but, after one week, I quit.

I started the first week with a bang, but then I found myself in the boxing ring faced against a severe opponent called adversity. Adversity was mean, loud and kept the punches coming. Lack of sleep due to the baby teething and general stress, a stressed dog, barking because we were getting some work done to the backyard, not wanting to miss a day of the Joe Wicks - Bodycoach 90 plan and a 24/7 headache, I threw in the towel. Sometimes we need to realise when we have taken on too much and stop, reset and try again later.

I originally joined the 5 am club because there isn't enough time in the day and I needed to go to bed earlier than 11:30 pm so that I have more positive energy during instead of feeling fatigued. During the 90-day body coach challenge, I have made a few changes or transformations as Joe Wicks calls it and a new sleep routine was one of the last items on my list, and to be honest, it was long overdue.

The first night I decided to join the club. I had the worst night's sleep ever. I didn't fall asleep until 12:30 and then felt like I slept with my eyes open. You know that feeling after getting off a red-eye flight, or when you have an appointment the next morning, and you are afraid you are going to miss it, you are just completely out of sorts, well that is how I woke up on the first morning.

I woke at 5 am well 5:15, to be honest, I hit the alarm. Grabbed the computer, couldn't see straight and wondered what am I doing and what was I even going to work. Needless to say, if you are going to join the 5 am club, it is imperative that you have a purpose and are very organised. I pulled up my to-do list and got started.

For those who don't know, the 5 am club is a concept started by Robin Sharma where you wake up at 5 am do twenty-minutes exercise, twenty-minutes planning and twenty-minutes study. It's a great concept, and it is something I have wanted to do for some time.

Week 1:

I recently heard someone reference "self-care Sunday", I laughed to myself thinking "is that a trend"? The idea of a whole day of self-care sounded very humorous, but my laughter quickly stopped when I realised I don't even have a self-care hour never mind an entire day. I am sure I am not alone in this.

The 5 am club for me wasn't all about learning a new language or exercising, I couldn't exercise at 5 am even if I wanted to because I risk waking the baby. It was about self-care, about headspace, a moment just for me. Time to read, look at websites, dream, absorb theory, write, draw ideas and this is my kind of self-care. Sure a facial and a massage are relaxing but writing, reading, listening to music and drawing is my kind of soul food. These are things as a parent I find hard to carve out time for.

One website I have wanted to browse is Kind.co. I added a few items to my wishlist. Wishlist cataloguing is kind of a hobby of mine, like the law of attraction for shopping. I have wish lists and baskets filled on lots of websites with the dream of buying these products which I rarely do for one reason or another. But not this time, I was most definitely checking out this basket of Upcircle face cream and mask, candles, eco-house products, bamboo toothbrush and lemongrass handwash and more! I have been dying to try these products, and I finally had a few minutes to make it to the checkout and click buy! I also had some time to plan my meals for the week ahead and write down some ideas.

They say if you are going to get up at 5 am you shouldn't do work in the power hour you should instead do something for yourself. I think that is debatable, during the current working from home due to the COVID 19 pandemic some of us have no choice but to use this time to plan our weeks or get ahead of a few emails. However, I fought the urge to do work and kept to the plan.

Week one was all about adjusting my body clock to 5 am and to see how I would feel at the end of the week. By week 2, I was over-exhausted. I took on a challenge that was supposed to create more time for me, but after the first week, I found myself overtired. I decided to stop, give myself a break and reset. Realising when you need to reset is also a form of self-care.

You don't have to follow the 20/20/20 ritual of exercise, planning and study Robin Sharma suggests. You can create your own "Power Hour". To get the most benefit from this hour, though, it should focus on your self-development. Whether you exercise, study, plan or meditate doesn't matter.

What matters is you dedicate this time to spend on yourself. Try to avoid work, check your email or social media or do anything for anyone else during this time. This is your time to do with whatever you like for yourself. Think of it as your hour or, as in my case, my "power hour".

I am back on the schedule, and so my journey begins (again)!

We will see, to be continued...

Keep safe and wear a mask,

Regards,

Working from Hawaii