Starting The Day: A Lifelong Habit

Once upon a time I was not a morning person. Through my teenage and college years, I'd sleep in until I absolutely had to get out bed in the morning, then rush around as quickly as possible. This habit moved itself into the post-graduate years as working early and taking classes late meant morning was a time to get up and get ready and go.

But after I married and began to work early mornings, I began to discover the power of the morning. It started simply enough - Study a Latin Lesson and read some Scripture as I hurried down breakfast before running out the door - but over time I found that I was actually making progress in something that I enjoyed while I worked as I had to.

Over the years with a series of long commutes and early risings, time became more and more precious. Suddenly getting it up a little earlier in the morning was not just something I did because I moved slowly, it was something that allowed me to extend my day into the areas that I wanted to do but couldn't because of work.

Scheduling is everything; you could make the argument it has taken me 22 years to get to the point that I am maximizing my time while maintaining some degree of flexibility in what I do. But with the scheduling comes the power to do the things that I like to do, to "squeeze out" the maximum amount of usefulness in the time I am granted.

Is my schedule subject to change? Sure it is. I'm always seeking to find ways to get a little more time in the morning as there are others things I'd like to do (maybe another language, time to garden in the cool of the morning, a regular morning time for writing, or even the beginning of a new activity) or even extend the time for things I do now (a longer workout or more time for reading). I could need to be to work later or change my commute to a far shorter one. Either way, I've got a structure build on now.

Starting the Day can either make or break the rest of the day. The odd thing is that much of Starting The Day remains in our power to control.