Uberman Project

You already know that I changed my sleeping habits for the better by getting up at 6 o’clock every day. At the same time I don’t have to go to bed earlier so I have 90 additional minutes every morning. It’s easier to get up in the morning if you have an awesome morning routine that you look forward to. It will also prevent you from getting back into your old habits. So here are some things you can do to start your day like a winner:

1. Take a deep breath – Or even better take lots of them. Smile while doing so and build some positive thoughts while keeping your eyes closed for a moment.

2. Stretch – You have been lying around for hours with propably minor movement at best. So give your entire body the chance to wake up by stretching it.

3. Eat some fruit you like – Fruits are awesome! They are healthy and delicious. So start your day with a good feeling by eating the fruit of your choice.

4. Have sex – This is the number 1 activity choice during the entire day. But nothing lets you start into a successful day like good morning sex.

5. Go running – Like I already told you I love running. And knowing that you already ran for miles while most of the town is just trying to get awake with buckets of coffee is just great.

6. Work out – Same thing here. Instead of working out in the evening after a long hard day try it in the morning. You will have plenty of time in the evening for other things and the feeling that you have already completed your work out will boost your confidence for at least the entire day.

7. Meditation, Tai Chi, Yoga – Start your day in stressless fashion by not checking mails or reading the latest horror news. Instead you’re calm and rested. Use that, sit down in a comfortable position and meditate for some time.

8. Drink a nice hot beverage – Especially when it’s cold in your bedroom and you want to stay in bed. Reward yourself for getting up anyway with your favourite hot drink.

9. Get some fresh rolls – There’s not much that smells as good as freshly baked bread and rolls. So visit your local bakery early in the morning when the smell of warm dough is still in the air.

10. Go for a walk – For those of you who don’t like running. The world is never more quiet then during the night and the early morning hours (weekends aside).

One of the first things I changed almost immediately was my sleeping habits. I hadn’t slept well for some days which is quite unusual for me and besides that I always had my problems getting up in the morning. I read an article by Steve Pavlina called “How to become an early riser”. One of the key points is to get up in the morning always at a fixed time and go to bed when you become sleepy in the afternoon. It’s one awesome piece of text and you should definitely read it.

Getting up at a fixed time

So I started to get up at 6 o’clock instead of 7:30. I was motivated enough to do it the first days although my body wanted to stay in the warm bed. After doing it for a week now I think my body has mostly adapted to 6 o’clock and it has become pretty easy to get up in the morning. I was sleepy the first day or two but overall I would have expected the transition to be far worse. After 2 or 3 days I already felt better and more energized when I woke up. Since monday I feel absolutely tremendous in the morning and I have more energy throughout the day.

The best thing about it is that I don’t need to go to bed earlier than before. I get sleepy now between 23:00 and 23:30 which was my normal time as well when I slept until 7:30. That’s 90 minutes of extra time I have every day! So this helps you to sleep less and feel better instead of sleeping a lot and feeling like shit none the less.

No coffee sir!

I also stopped drinking coffee immediately. I had read about caffeine addiction for the first time in “Coach yourself to success” by Talane Miedaner. If you drink coffee regularly there is a good chance that a lot of your headaches have a direct link to that. Since coffee isn’t exactly known for helping you sleep well either it had to go.

The first day at work was hard. When I woke up everything seemed ok. I drank herbal tea instead of my usual coffee. The headaches started at about 10 o’clock and became more and more painful. At about 14:30 I had probably the worst headache of my life. From then on the pain decreased slightly but my head was still hurting when I went to bed. The next two days where accompanied by minor headaches but after surviving the first day it was really a walk in the park.

A new morning routine

Now what to do with the new found time and energy? First thing I did was getting back into running. After getting up, eating a piece of fruit and drinking a cup of tea I put on my shoes and go for a run every other day.

Running early in the morning is really awesome. Hamburg is mostly asleep at that time and the few people you meet look at you like your some crazy guy running around town while normal people sleep … which is basically what I am (besides most of the crazyness). It’s dark and rainy right now which only adds to that. A grown man running around in the darkness while intentionally jumping into every puddle he can find because he is already soaking wet from the rain may very well be something you don’t see every day. But I highly recommend it. It’s just so much fun! In addition to that I start the day with a good feeling because I know that I already took care of my training, beat my lazyness again, fought with the elements and jumped into some puddles .

On those days where I don’t go running I mostly read a book or some blog posts (Steve Pavlina, Nerd Fitness, etc.) or write for this blog. I also like to eat a nice breakfast in the morning so making that takes some time as well.