JWT Weekly Challenge: Wake Up Earlier

I try to do one challenge a week for myself. This is how I try to keep "evolving" and improving :)

For my first challenge, I tried to make a point of calling the people in my life (or texting, that counts too!) that I need to talk to but sometimes don't. That was great for me, as I did reach out more. I need to keep doing that.

For my second challenge, I tried to drink ONLY WATER for an entire week. I did good for the most part, but I did buy a DIET PEPSI at the movies, simply because I refuse to pay $3.50 for a bottle of water. Not doing it.

This week, my challenge for myself (and for you... come on, jump in here with me) is to wake up 15 minutes earlier every morning. That might mean not hitting the snooze on your alarm. That might mean setting the alarm earlier. Either way, just get up 15 minutes earlier.

You'll be AMAZED at how much more you get done by doing this one simple thing. I'll give you an example of why this is true...

My alarm goes off at 5:00 AM every morning. Because of my job (I'm the superintendent of a school), I might have to wake up at 3 AM (if we have snow, bad weather, etc), or I might not get home until after 11 pm (out at a ballgame, Board meeting, etc). Those are TERRRRRIBLE work hours, and it makes establishing a "normal" sleep pattern impossible.

Maybe that's why I woke up at 2:42 AM today and am typing this LOL.

But on a normal day, I might wake up at 5 AM and go, go, go. I'll be at work by 6:30ish and have a normal day. If it's a day I know I'm going to be out late, I might "sleep in" until 6 am. But let's use the example of a normal day where I wake up at 5 AM.

The alarm goes off at 5 AM. I hit the snooze once. That's 9 more minutes. So I'm up at 5:09, go brush my teeth, take a shower, shave, etc. Now let's NOT hit the snooze. Let's wake up 15 minutes earlier. Now I up at 4:45 AM. Now I have 24 "extra" minutes (the 15 early + the 9 I didn't snooze) to start my day.

Do you know what you can do with an extra 15-30 minutes? You could cook yourself a quick breakfast. You could not speed to get to work. You could make yourself some coffee. You could stop on your way to work and get some McDonald's or something. You could get to work earlier and get the day off to a running start.

So that's the challenge for this week. Wake up 15 minutes earlier than normal. Rise and Grind! You'll be amazed at the difference. And I'M TELLING YOU, THIS STUFF WORKS! For example, doing the water challenge last week, I had one friend text me that he lost 10 pounds. I know that I personally lost 4 pounds. I feel great.

Now I just need to follow through! So this week I'm going to call my mom, try to keep drinking water (maybe having an occasional coffee or something LOL) and wake up a little earlier. I hope more and more people start jumping in on these challenges. That's kind of the whole point of JWT, to build an online community, a "support group" where we help each other.

And maybe occasionally talk about basketball. Because it's the state tournament. And that's why I'm up at 3 AM. This stuff is exciting haha. Everybody have a great day. #JWT #JoinTheRevolution