I’ve decided to change my daily schedule. It’s time to set my alarm and get out of bed early. For the past months, I’ve been letting my body decide when to get up.
It’s getting hot and my morning walks will go by the wayside unless I get out earlier. Yesterday we walked at 7 a.m. and it was too hot. We decided 5:30 a.m. would be the ideal time to get outside in the neighborhood.
Another reason to get up early is pickleball at the YMCA. When school ends in a few weeks, the gym where we play pickleball will be used by the kids’ summer program. Us old folks will get to play pickleball from 5:30 to 7:30 a.m. By walking at 5:30 a.m. for a few weeks, I’ll be ready for the early pickleball mornings.
I wrote about early birds get the worm a few years ago. It’s a story about how many people we define as successful get up each day at dawn. I’m talking Benjamin Franklin to Tim Cook. You can read it HERE.
Do you set an alarm in the morning or do you let your body decide when to get up? Are you an early bird or not?
Early bird here. I usually set an alarm but I’m almost always up before it goes off
I set my alarm for 5 a.m. and I was not up before it went off!
😉
My new natural time and body rhythm is 6AM. I’m okay with that, especially for early morning walks when it’s finally summer around here. Right now planning walks means watching for the ideal time between constant rain showers.
I forgot about the rain! If I wake up between 6 and 6:30 a.m. It’s already too hot by the time I get out the door.
I can see more and more that Arizona would never be the place for me 😉 I have to know that there is some point during the day that I can walk outside and not melt!
It’s before 6 am! This is actually cooler than our old home!
I’m an early riser.
I usually wake up between 6 and 6:30 a.m. without an alarm.
It’s how we program ourselves because the body gets used to getting up at a certain time.
For summertime, I usually move my internal clock up to enjoy cooler weather.
And I do it because the morning prayers are early, before sunrise.
Ah!
👍🏼
I am not an alarm person unless I have to be. My body tells me when to wake up.
I usually wake up at the same time each morning. But I had to get up early today to enjoy the cool weather.
Let’s see,…retire? Check. Sleep in? Check. Slow cup of coffee and a take my time and enjoy breakfast? Check. Mess all that up for a 5:30 AM walk and pickleball? Yeah, not gonna happen, ever. That same walk can be taken in the late afternoon when the temperature is only 90.
I did the morning walk and it was only 70 degrees. Then I went back to bed and slept for an hour!
And I bet it was an awesome hour of sleep!
It was until my husband called for me down the hall and woke me up. It might have been two hours of sleep!
I naturally wake at the same time every day!
I love that picture of the sunrise, Elizabeth! Gorgeous!
Thank you!
I set alarms for 6 AM and my goal is to get up but sometimes I turn them off and don’t quite make it. It is one of my goals to achieve as well. Not because I want to go outside and exercise but because I can get so much work done before the noise of the household starts.
That’s a good reason!
Early bird, no alarm needed. I usually wake before the alarm and if I attempt to sleep in past 5:30, the dog wakes me.
Yes, dogs do that. My previous cat would rattle the shutters next to my bed when she wanted me to get up.
Great question – I’m wired to be an early bird and I don’t set an alarm. I rely on my body to wake me up, and I usually get up between 5 and 6:30. That works for me and our family’s shower schedule. I work in the afternoons, so I have a lot of flexibility!
That’s great!
I find 7 is the latest I can sleep weekdays but I can also read a good book at least until 9 and then a slow Southern breakfast and time in the garden.
Yea, I meant weekends. Dreaming of the summer.
That sounds ideal!!
In that heat, it sure makes sense. I get up about 6, sometimes a little earlier or later. I do not like alarms and don’t use one. Natural body rhythm works for me!
For me too. But now I have to get myself used to an hour earlier for the summer heat.
When I need to wake up early on weekdays, I set an alarm for 5 am. On weekends, I don’t set an alarm but wake up on my own around 8 am, sometimes 7 am.
I wish I could sleep until 8 a.m. That sounds so good!
During my time as a So Cal mom I walked in the AM as an “escape”. I switched that to the PM for a similar reason as a So Cal daughter this time. We’ll see what transpires for this exercise when I get to MI!
Even in retirement I am generally and early riser if you think of 7:30 as early. I could get out of bed earlier since I’m usually awake before that but I like to get my fix of news and headlines in the first 30 to 45 minutes of GMA. Since I now have the luxury of not having to do anything with anyone in the early morning most days, I have been known to roll over and catch another hour or two.
I love the idea of catching a few more hours of sleep!