Pulling a Fast One

My office offers the wonderful option of a flex-time schedule. This means that I have to work 8 hours (plus 30 minute lunch) everyday, but I can come in whenever I want between the hours of 6 and 9 am. Though this was originally put into practice by the union to accommodate working mothers, I take full advantage of it.

The idea of going in at 6 and getting off at 2:30 is stupendous! Actually doing it is a little rough though. I have never been able to do it. I started trying last winter. But I found that I just can’t get out of bed when it’s still dark outside. My body refuses. Quite frankly, it’s just unnatural. There’s no reason we should be up before the sun. Unless, of course, I want to be home sooner in the afternoons. But how can I make the sun rise earlier?

Ben has been reading this book called Flanagan’s Smart Home: The 98 Essentials for Starting Out, Starting Over, Scaling Back. Basically it narrows down your entire house full of crap to 98 necessary things, as well as provides suggestions on increasing the quality of life. One thing Ben has read about is how to wake up in the morning. Instead of jumping out of bed to a blaring alarm clock that’s sets your adrenaline running, the book suggests using a lamp timer that turns the lamp on about 30 minutes prior to when you want to get up. Your body naturally wakes up to the light – and you’re able to avoid the jarring discord of that god-awful alarm.

So with this tip we have figured out how to trick my body into getting up earlier. I wake up to the light, and it’s not until I walk out of our bedroom that I realize how dark it still is. But then it’s too late! I’m off to the shower, into work early, and back home early! Then it’s like I still have a whole half of the day left to be at home with Ben.

*Ok, so I still haven’t actually made it in by 6 yet. But I’ve gotten in as early as 6:30, and I’m slowly working my way up to 6. Come on, give me a break, it’s 6 AM!