Confession: I have had some really bad sleep habits the past year.

Exceptionally bad, actually.

Want to hear about them?  It went down a little like this:

The daily routine would go on, we’d run around busy & crazy all day, we’d get the boys in bed at 8:30 or so.  Husband & I would look at each other & think “FREE TIME!”  We’d spend the next 3-4 hours chatting, cuddling, and watching shows on Hulu.  It was “our time” together without the kids & we deserved it.  We’d fall asleep in bed around 11:30-1:00 each night.  Every single morning we’d wake up to our kids asking us to get up & come get them, make them breakfast, etc.  Around 8-8:30 am, mind you.  {Yes, I know we’re lucky to have kids who sleep in}.  I’d grumpily roll out of bed, still tired from the night before, iritated that my kids were waking me up, and sleepily start breakfast for them.  Husband would roll out of bed onto his computer & start stressing about his business.  I’d get myself breakfast around 9 and he wouldn’t eat for the first time till about 11-12.

FYI, these are all really bad habits-and weren’t helping us accomplish our goal of optimal health in our personal lives, our businesses, and for our family.

Enter Go Global.  The awesome convention we attended with Take Shape for Life at the end of April.  We got to hear from an amazing motivational speaker, Robin Sharma, for 3 hours.  The time flew by and our lives were changed.  I know that sounds cheesy-and I don’t usually buy into cheese-but it’s true.  Robin was the real deal.  Practical principles that apply to everyone willing to practice them.  We took pages of notes & kept looking at each other knowingly because we knew we had to seriously change some of our bad habits if we wanted to achieve greater things in our lives.

The “Club” I referenced in the title, is something Robin talked about.  He said {and I paraphrase}, if everyone would wake up at 5:00 AM at least 5 days a week for the next year, they would notice exponential growth in their business & personal lives.  Immediately, I knew what he was saying was true & knew we had some VERY uncomfortable weeks ahead of us if we were going to change.

He said to do the following:

1. Wake up at 5:00 am

2. Exercise

3. Journal and/or read something uplifting

4. Shower & affirmations {get ready for the day}

5. Eat Breakfast

Easy as that, right?

So, the entire weekend was chalk full of amazing information and we had a fantastic time in sunny Arizona.

We got home on Sunday and started implementing our changes the very next day.

We were prepared for discomfort, for baby steps, and for a major shift in our routines.

We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is, so we were willing. 

Now, it’s been 2.5 weeks.  The update is this.  I LOVE my new routine.  The first week was incredibly hard, very one step forward, one step back, but I tried every day {and logged 15.07 miles on the treadmill}.  Week two was definitely better & I was out in our gym by 5:30 each morning.  Even the weekends have been earlier.  And, my internal alarm clock has already changed.  Sunday at 6:00 am, I just woke up.  No alarm & felt great!  Week three has been awesome & I’ve been up by 5 all week.  Our night routine has obviously had to change drastically, and we have found ourselves going to bed by 9:30 or 10:00 pm, but it’s been okay because we have that sacred time in the morning.  We work out side by side, I’ve gotten so much out of my reading {The Leader Who Had no Title, by Robin Sharma}, and LOVE having my shower done before my boys are out of bed.  I wrote my affirmations down on my AquaNotes waterproof paper & I repeat them in my head several times while in the shower.  We’ve eliminated tv from our diets for now and haven’t even missed it.  We did watch Iron Man 1&2 after seeing the Avenger‘s Premiere-but it took us four nights to get through them because we didn’t want to stay up past 10:30!  Serious progress, peeps!

{Each alarm allows me to press snooze twice-if needed-before getting up}

{daily affirmations}

My boys are happier because they are waking up to two parents who are actually up & ready for the day {and happier because of it}, and we have breakfast together as a family.  I’m happier because I actually get a workout & a shower in every day & we’re all healthier because we’re getting more & better quality sleep, quality time by ourselves, and really choosing to focus on the things that matter most to us.

A couple answers you might be wondering about:

-Yes, I hit a wall around 3Pm every day.  I feel pretty dang tired.  So when I can, I lie on the couch & get 15-20 minutes sleep or rest.  Husband even kept the kids busy yesterday and I got a 2 hour nap.  Most romantic thing he could have done for me. (;  So yeah, I’m still adjusting.  After a quick rest-or just taking it easy in a chair outside watching the kiddos play-I’m good till bedtime.

-I find myself taking extra time out for movement during the day that just wasn’t happening before.  When I start feeling tired or run down, I’ll suggest we take a walk, which the boys love.  We jump on the trampoline & I do 300 good jumps before getting off.  I’m refreshed, the kids are happy, and I’ve logged more calories lost.  It’s a win-win.

{where I start my mornings right}

-My whole day is more focused on achieving what I want.  I eat better {thank you Take Shape for Life maintenance plan!} because I don’t want to screw up what I accomplished by getting enough sleep & exercising first thing, and I’m spending less “mindless” time on blogs/facebook/pinterest because I don’t want to lose the momentum I had upon getting up & setting my daily goals.

All in all, I’m completely sold on Sharma’s 5:00 club.  I dare you to join me.  Try it for one week.  Let me know how it goes.  Take baby steps if you need to, but set a goal, and go for it.  One year from now, we could look back & see the immense changes.  The time is now!  I can’t wait!  If you try it, please let me know how it’s going for you.  As always, don’t hesitate to ask questions.

p.s. If you are interested in learning more about the opportunity to lose weight or get healthy with Take Shape for Life or want to help others do the same, contact me & we’ll chat: zkyoufit@hotmail.com