Happy New Year!
I am a night owl. At least I am a reformed night owl. I love staying up late and I especially love being creative at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning, or at least that's what I thought. I used to put my kids to bed around 7 pm and then hang out with my husband, then get to work in my studio. Having this routine, was hard because it was difficult for me to switch gears from being a mom, then a wife and then an artist.
A tough day would just hang over my head and would be the hardest to shake, especially when I needed to be intense in the studio. By the time I was able to get rid of the feelings of my day, it would be already late. I would end up working away until like 3 or 4 in the morning and trying to get it done. Then, the kids would be up at around 7 and I would sleep during their nap. I was so tired and in such a brain fog most of the day.
I also felt like I was being a lousy mom because all I could think about was getting sleep and wasn't able to function that way at least for me and being the mom I wanted to be. I am a far from perfect mom, but I want to try my best to be mentally present for my kids. And to be honest, the sleep I was getting was not cutting it.
I was in my studio, and I could feel the push and pull of being so freaking tired and being a mom and trying to make art. When I am this mentally grouchy, I usually listen to podcasts. I was listening to The Lively Show and I listened to the episode with Hal Elrod. He talks about his book, The Morning Miracle, and goes in depth about his highs and lows of his journey and how he battled back from being thousands of dollars in debt and being very depressed.
The Morning Miracle is exactly how it sounds. He created a morning routine to jump start his day and it helped him bounce back in all the best ways. There are a lot of different layers to the book, but what struck me was the chapter on sleep and creating a morning routine. He also gets into the science of sleep and how much sleep a person actually needs in order to function. When you wake up, your brain makes better decisions in the morning then at night.
The book made me realize that I needed a better routine around my work that wouldn't interfere with my mom schedule. So like that, I made the choice to work mornings instead of nights. I set my alarm clock for 5 am. Did it suck? Yes. Was it terrible? Yes. Do I jump out of bed and run directly into my studio and work? No. The best part about waking up this early is that I get time before the day starts that I can focus on myself. No kids, no husband, and no dog. Well, I do usually let Yoda out and he has a tendency to be an amazing foot warmer, but it's usually just him and I. This was my time without any pushing or pulling and I could just focus on what I should be doing and getting my brain into a place that I could make art.
Create a dedicated time that you are making your best work and you're setup for success. Don't get stuck on the fact that you are a night owl, and think about what is the best way to nourish yourself in this process.
Do I still wake up early? I do, but I am not super strict about it on the weekends. If it's the regular work week, then I do have my schedule in order to make my best work. With this month-long challenge of me sharing all of the behind the scenes, it makes me nervous because it's a pretty big challenge for me to peel back a layer and share it. So here it goes! I'm not sure what's going to happen, but I promise I'll be posting a blog post every day this month.
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