Get Sleep And Compound the Benefits

It's so easy to try needlessly to cram in more in a day. For me, it's often a procrastination problem as well. As the night pushes on, I wait until the very end to do that tasks I told myself I'd do. And when I drag through until 1AM, even if I try to wake up later the next morning, I never feel quite the same as when I go to bed on time and get 7-8 natural hours. It's so simple, yet so powerful. When I do, little things that don't go my way don't feel so much like problems attacking me, but more like challenges I can solve. It's a perspective change that comes with clarity and freshness. And no matter how mindful I try to be on those days I don't get the proper sleep, I can't seem to bring that same vibrance for the day (or if I do, it quickly diminishes and is hard to reengage). I find I need to remind and encourage myself every damn day that I should sleep on time. Temptations and excuses (oh I'll just set my alarm 45 mins later) squeeze in every day, and YouTube videos and internet scrolling coax me into "just one more click" until hours have passed by. Like most things in life — actions compound, whether good or bad. In this example, going to bed on time, allows me to rise with fever and zest, and then I become more productive and feel more positive and I just engage more with the world — thus compounding the initial benefits of my restful slumber. On the flip side, when I ignore sleep, I wake up late and tired, which puts me in a negative mindset, and then I rush through tasks which aren't done strategically or well, and then I feel bad about myself for not doing well and start to feel depressed about life. It's a simple fix, yet makes a big difference. Of course, I won't always get perfect sleep, and on those days, I can still make the best of my tired state with careful mindfulness and awareness changes... but let's make it easy on myself if I can.