Now, are there exemptions for procrastinating on sleep?
For sure…
If you’re spending your night hours building something great for humanity (or even just your family), no one will knock that level of selflessness. And no one could talk you out of that type of drive anyway. (Also, chances are, you wouldn’t even have time to read this article or be questioning your lifestyle choices if that’s your path.) But if you’re genuinely wishing you could alter your routine, it’s rarely gonna happen through shear on-the-spot willpower. Not at that time of the afternoon or eve. Your brain will conveniently “forget” you meant to make a breakthrough today. Just like when it conveniently forgets you were going to start your new diet the moment you get hungry and pass Burger King. Instead, what’s required is a plan.
For example: how do you make sure your get to work on time? Or to do anything that’s a must, lest you have your job, house, or well being in general threatened? You plan for it, right? You make it a priority. Non-negotiable. You have to leave by X:30 to make it there by Z o’ clock. That means you start getting ready at X o’ clock. Which means you get up at W’ o clock. (Ya know, so you can sit there and contemplate life and what alternate universe you’ve fallen into that time goes by letters in lieu of numbers…) In any case, the same goes for sleep. If you start your day, planning for a specific bedtime, you can gear all of your post work stuff around that.
Maybe map out a timeline of to-do’s to have to-done for tomorrow.
Plan it all.
How long dinner will take. How much free time you have to “play”. And, finally, set an alarm that goes off half an hour before bed so you can settle into a wind down routine. As for averting that night time anxiety, try beating it to the punch. Exercise. Connection with others. Art. Spend some of that time doing what’s fulfilling, rewarding, inspiring, or necessary. Give yourself a little time to tune into exactly what it is you need. (Not crave.) And, if those things are limited by your late work hour, then your answer is going to be waking up earlier to get it done – and heading to bed earlier to you can do exactly that. (See how it all comes full circle?)
The issue is this: that willpower wanes because we’ve been imprisoned by a schedule and rules for eight hours, most of us, by the time work is over. At that point, we don’t want any rules. And, if we’re happy, healthy, and well rested in that chaos, that’s absolutely fine. If we’re not, however, that’s when we need to realize something. The rules and schedule set after work – are set by us. It’s set by our higher self. No one and nothing external is forcing you. It’s simply set by the part of us who knows we’ll wake up feeling crappy for either not doing anything fulfilling with our free time… or for doing too much of it and not knowing when to stop.
Sidenote: also know when in the day to stop drinking coffee.
Because that’ll keep you up too.
And, for the final counter-argument.
You tell me your job is so depleting that you don’t even have the energy or motivation to follow your own plan. In that case, there’s a final counter-solution. You’re putting something else off other than just bed time. Sleeplessness is just a symptom of a bigger issue. Maybe you need a better job. A better relationship. Or, if it’s a mental health issue sitting at the center of everything, a visit to the local psychological sorceress so she can cast a spell on your dome. (Gives new meaning to the casting couch, am I right?) Many a friend has found great insight by way of therapy. And, thankfully, we’re finally at a place where there’s no stigma about it and it’s actually applauded when people aren’t too proud to admit they could use some new programming from an objective source. In any case, whatever resonated best with you about this article, the message is the same: stop procrastinating on stopping procrastinating.
A better bedtime and more restful sleep is in your hands.
So…. what will you do today to get a better rest tonight?