The Amazing Advantage of Being “Early and First”

I am a night owl… Everyone knows this about me.  Friends, Family, Neighbors, & Co-workers.   I am typically the most active in the evenings and do my best thinking then.  I enjoy staying up late to finish a few things for work or sometimes just getting my house in order.  But there is prices to pay…you have to beat me with a stick to get me out of bed in the mornings… even with my 3 dogs beckoning to go out!

I was tasked with getting up for a “special” project I had going on for about a week… I was forced to make myself roll out of my comfortable nest of a bed at 6:00AM which I know is not really that early for many people but for a night owl like me this is unthinkable!  I like pushing my sleep to the last possible second and then I would find myself racing around changing clothes  15 times, having issues with hair and/or some other wardrobe malfunction, or some issues with the dogs would come up.  And if I had only gotten up a little bit earlier and allowed myself to get out of my sleep comfort zone…I wouldn’t have been in this mess!

So I decided after that “special” project I was on which required me to get up so early…I was going to make a switch.  I discovered that even though it was tough for me to climb out of bed in the mornings, I really liked it.  Having time to take care of household matters, hang with my dogs longer outdoors in the mornings and just taking more time for me and having quiet time and being earlier to work…was amazing.  Imagine that!   I actually had time to catch my breath, make sure I was prepared for my day, weed through emails, and make my list of what I wanted to get accomplished in my day.  That way when I felt like day was rockin' along, I was already in a nice groove and not in FULL PANIC mode!

This idea of being “Early and First” works with meetings and appointments too.  You don’t lose that certain edge….it keeps you on point.  The only real disadvantage to being late and not “on top of your game” is being rattled the rest of your day…you can never shake it!  And who wants to feel like that all day?   

So even if it is not in your makeup to be an early bird…just try it.  Try it for a week, like I did.  You will soon discover that when you are “Early and First” you seem to stay on task and on track better.  And if you find it absolutely the bane of your existence to get up that early everyday…just try it every now and then.  It will give you an edge…I guarantee it!