A Few Tips on Getting More / Better Sleep

Don't think sleep is important? Think again. Not only does getting the proper amount of sleep (at least 7 - 8 hours a night) increase productivity and concentration but a lack of rest can affect your metabolism, increase your risk of diabetes, and contribute to depression. 

As someone who once prided himself on bulldozing through the day on just a few hours of sleep, I've finally come to the realization that you don't lose time when you sleep. You actually gain it back in the increased productivity. Here a few quick tips on changing your sleeping habits.

1. Make the room you sleep in a "No Screens Zone." Get a $5 alarm clock if you use your phone to get you up in the morning. Laptops, smart phones, and anything that glows goes in another room so you can both avoid temptation (remember it's easier to avoid distraction than to resist it) and calm yourself before rest.

2. Try going to bed and getting up at the same time. Resist the temptation to get up if you can't sleep. Lay in your bed until your set time arrives. There's a good chance you'll eventually doze off if you give it enough time.

3. Have a cup of water at your bedside. Drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning is a good way to get your day going. Aside from the fact we need water to survive, drinking lots of water has a major effect on your energy and brain function. Drinking some water early in the morning can also help your body flush out toxins and fire up your metabolism. 

Do.

"Be one of the few who do rather than the many who talk." These words stopped me in my tracks the other day as I listened to an audiobook. I took personal inventory of all the times in my life I said I'd do something only to get distracted with another project or forget my proclamation entirely. 

What I've learned, particularly in the last few years, is there is no shortage of people who claim they'll do things. There is however, a deficit who say as they do and do as they say.

I have a great empathy for this struggle and believe it comes down to the fact that people don't think they know how to get started. The truth is, you already know exactly what you need to do. The missing components are confidence and action. The first step is the simplest and hardest - beginning.

Say you want to write a novel. An ambitious goal no doubt, but far from impossible. Sit down and write one sentence. Tomorrow try and write two, even if they're awful. Just begin and stick with it. 

Soon, you'll develop a sense of consistency and once you do that good luck to anyone who tries to stop you. You will move mountains to maintain a routine if it's important enough to you. That is, if your "why" is lined with your core values.

You can get your voice out into the world, but it requires a sense of calm, concentration, and a heightened intuition that you have the capacity to create something of value, which you most certainly do. 

Here's to the Starters.