The No-Sit Rule
I had a lousy 2020 holiday season when it comes to my habits. My brother came home from college (very welcome for my fun, but not my habits), and I faced some other distractions in life. Of course, none of them are valid excuses.
When things died down a bit, I decided it was time to get back on track. But having not followed the Double 9-5 Rule for 2 whole months, I was having trouble getting back into it.
I finally settled on what I call The No-Sit Rule. Here's how it works.
- At 5 am, my two alarms that I placed far away from my bed go off, and my lights automatically turn on (thank you, smart switches).
- I must get up in order to silence the alarms to not disturb others.
- I'm not allowed to sit-down until I finish the rest of the things in this list.
- Make my bed.
- Weigh myself.
- Put on clothes.
- Drink water.
- Download my 15-20 minute podcast.
- Shave, brush teeth, and wash face.
- Exit my bedroom.
- Go outside and run 2 miles.
- Come back home and clear the dishes from the drying rack.
- Finally, if I wish, I'm allowed to sit down.
This stupidly simple rule of not allowing myself to sit down until I finish all these tasks has been surprisingly effective, and I've kept this streak up for 3 weeks as of this writing.
I'm not yet sure on whether or not the effects are temporary. Time will tell. But at least for my morning, this has been a miracle in terms of effectiveness and productivity!
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