I knew I was getting closer to my Kentucky home when I started to notice the limestone shouldering the edges of the relatively lonely highway. I was there to visit friends and family and be social but one of the first things I did every morning was to go to the Common Grounds quiet cafe and spend a little samurai hour, writing, studying, and spending a little time re-creating myself.
One of the best things you can do for yourself, your loved ones, and the earth in general is to find time for your samurai self to create. Spending some time brainstorming, writing, playing, studying, or even walking or running in the morning works on several levels. In one way it is like hitting the reset button. It’s a fresh start to create and imagine. Or it’s a chance to put another brick in whatever fun project you are up to in your mad labs.
What I’ve also discovered that this time is also good for the other people around me. They may never be exposed to anything that I’ve written or studied, but they are exposed to the real me. (In a non-creepy way. 🙂 ) If I’ve taken even just a few minutes to create, I am more present. I am more pleasant. It may seem selfish to spend some time away by yourself but the best thing that you can do for your friends and family is spend a little time re-creating yourself.
Back when I was doing an Japanese immersion service called Silverspoon, I did suggested morning “sprints” that included an affirmation (in a non-new-agey non-creepy way) and a pretty intense burst of Japanese study/play. There’s something great about waking and baking in the freshness of a new skill or just heading in a new direction with brainstorming or writing.
Whatever you do, don’t get caught up in how this morning time is supposed to look. Don’t wait for the perfect office space to get started. Head to the cafe. Head to the quiet hallway. If you don’t have an hour take fifteen minutes. If you don’t have fifteen minutes, take five.
Do it for yourself. Do it for the children. Spend a little morning time in your mad labs and power your day.
Jackson said:
This sounds like a good idea. However, I do have a question. You say to do this in the morning. How is doing it in the morning better than say the night, or mid-day? One reason I ask is because I am always sleepy and rushing in the morning, where as at night I think a lot and my brain is really working well.
taijuando said:
I think there are advantages to both. The advantage of morning is multi-fold but one of the best reasons I can think of is how it sets the tone for the day. Furuichi who wrote a book (in Japanese)about 30 minutes a day also wrote a book about the power of the morning. Waking up earlier becomes a habit. The other advantage that Furuichi talks about is that there less distractions in the morning–phone calls, interesting television shows, etc. This is all not scientific or research-based, it has just been my personal experience. Thanks for commenting. What are you trying to move forward with?
Keegan said:
Waking up early in the morning has been the most useful habit I've gotten into in a long time. My work schedule is variable: some days I have to be on the job by seven, some days I have 'till ten. The night before those seven o'clock days, I get ravenous about time. How dare the workday steal my awesome morning from me? I find myself wanting to get even, so I wake up even earlier 🙂
Morning power hours also have the benefit of making me feel better about being alone. I prefer to be social whenever I can, but nobody is awake pre-dawn! Nobody can make any demands of me! It's liberating.
Thanks for the post!
taijuando said:
I have two small children so that time is golden for me too. Thanks for commenting!