Rest, Exercise and Habits

Almost <mumbles> years ago, I stood on the corner wearing a brand new dress suit on a hot and humid Washington, DC July day waiting for the bus to come. It had to be around 7 a.m. as I headed out to my first day of my first job after college. From that day on, I arrived at work by 7:30 a.m. until later years when I changed that to 7 a.m.
SleepRest
Yet, eight years before that first day of work, I struggled to get out of bed to make it to high school for the 8 a.m. bell. Somewhere between the first day of high school and first day of work, my body decided it liked the early bird routine. Living in Washington, DC, prime time TV ran from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. I rarely caught the news because I fell asleep by 10:30 p.m.
Years later, I still hit the pillow between 10 and 10:30. Actually, I’ll get under the covers by 9:30 to wind down by reading or watching TV. No computer. No exercise. No energetic activities right before bedtime. This habit works so well that I could barely keep my eyes open after a family party ended at 11 p.m. despite the fun and excitement.
I get seven to eight hours of sleep every night. Occasionally, I’ll pull in a six, nine or even the dreaded ten (too long!). Anything less than seven isn’t good. When I don’t sleep well or enough, I’m a disaster the next day. I do my best to get through it, but I’m slower, hungrier, unfocused and irritable. More research shows getting enough sleep helps your mental health, memory, performance and body healing process.
Exercise
Thanks to playing a ton of sports while growing up, exercise has always been a regular part of my routine. Well, I’ve sharpened the routine since I stopped playing tennis. I’d play tennis twice a week and then randomly exercise two other days. Now, I have a structured routine on the what I do and when I do it.
Some days I don’t feel like working out. Because of habit, I get ‘er done. Maybe I don’t work out as hard or as long. Generally, I work out around the same time each day of the week (afternoons during weekdays and mornings on weekends). Sometimes I have an afternoon meeting or an early weekend event. I adapt. It’s harder, but because I stick with it — it’s done.
Habits
Notice a theme? I have a bad habit of checking email every morning because I created it long ago. But really. How many people you know stay up late sending emails? Most of the first thing emails are spam, social media notices and email newsletters that I can read later. First thing emails rarely come from a client or family member. (Well, except for my mom who can thrive on little sleep.)
I started keeping my email client closed while quickly glancing at the inbox on the BlackBerry. Most of the time, it’s nothing. It gives me comfort knowing I’m not missing anything. Remember email is my “phone.” With Gmail, I switch to “Contacts” mode to hide the mail. Also, make email filters your friend.
Habits help with work. Every Tuesday, I do work for one client. Every Friday, I post my favorite links for the week.
You probably know all this. So why post this? Sometimes we don’t realize that we need to create new habits or why we struggle to change habits. It takes time to retrain your brain’s passageways to dump or make habits.
What habits do you have? What habits do you want to change? What habits do you value?

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