Today has been day 7 of my challenge to get 8 hours of sleep for 30 days straight.
Every day I’ll share my FitBit Surge sleep data.
Aside from that, I want to document how I’m doing in terms of changing my habits:
- No more screens, from 1 hour before bedtime.
- Go for a 15 minute walk during the day.
- No coffee after noon.
- Use my thoughts to get to a place of gratitude before I go to sleep and when I wake up.
Day 7: 7hrs 10min
I did not reach my goal.
I went to bed after midnight and I woke up too soon and kind of snoozed and fell back asleep for an hour but it wasn’t all that good.
It’s safe to say I didn’t reach 8 hours of continuous sleep.
I slept about 6 hours straight and a little more after falling back asleep.
No more screens, 1 hour before bedtime
Goal reached?
Yes.
At night (10PM) which is normally my “screenless time” I sat down for a Skype call with the one and only Mark Shapiro. But because I went to bed after midnight, I can still say I did tire my eyes with a bright computer screen, the hour before bed. I was talking with a friend in real life and I had closed my laptop the hour before bed.
So I want to talk about this Skype call at 10PM. I could have said to myself: I can’t because I want to get 8 hours of sleep, I want to calm down from 10PM and relax, not have any impulses anymore.
But I feel like this experience trumps all of the reasons above.
Mark Shapiro is an entrepreneur
I connected with him by reaching out to him after listening to his podcast: The One and Only. A podcast about celebrating authenticity and exploring ways to be true to ourselves in all areas of life. What specifically interests me is how to align authenticity with business, entrepreneurship and work. My favorite one, and the one that made me discover his podcast was the episode with Preston Smiles.
So powerful…
I have been following Preston Smiles on social media for about half a year now. Actually I have no idea for how long but I feel like it has been at least half a year.
Anyway, this episode got me into The One and Only podcast and I reached out to Mark after he mentioned he could use any help and tips on how to market his podcast.
Now, since I’ve been working in online marketing for a while now, I felt like I was called to reach out to him and offer some of my knowledge. I’ve been inspired by his podcast and all the work that he does and it just feels awesome, and also scary, to be able to support him in any way possible.
So there I was, Tuesday night, 10PM, skyping with Mark in Los Angeles (1PM) and just getting to know each other and sharing my story of discovering the podcast, navigating life and discovering authenticity and fulfilment in life.
I can write and talk about this for hours, but I’ll keep it at this for now. Because I will make this post way too long, if I really get into it.
Just shoot me a message if you want to know more and I’ll share more about this amazing experience.
Go for a 15 minute walk
Goal reached?
Yes. Went for a walk with 4 of my colleagues during lunch break.
How was it?
It was good. People were motivated to go on this walk so it was fairly easy.
When you’re around people, it’s also easier to focus on what’s happening now, in the moment, you’re talking and sharing… So that’s good.
No coffee after noon
Goal reached?
Yes.
How was it?
Who even knows what it tastes like anymore?
Be in a place of gratitude
Goal reached?
Wow. Well. Yeah! After this Skype call, I was feeling overwhelmed with gratitude. It is just so amazing to be able to connect with people on the other side of the world and have a real conversation about life and authenticity (and marketing, lol).
How was it?
Great and emotional 🙂 Thanks to my good friend Frederick for being there to support and celebrate with me.
