Productivity, Frugal Girl Style | Get thee to bed!
Today we're beginning a weekly series on the topic of productivity. This series is coming to be because almost since the inception of my blog, readers have been writing me and asking me how I get so much done.
For the record, I'm very aware that I don't have this productivity thing down pat...I see the areas of my life that lack organization, and I see the places where I waste time. And of course, I see the bazillion things that I don't get done.
I do realize, though, that I get more done in a day than some people do, so I'm going to share my best ideas for the sort of imperfect productivity that makes up my life.
Probably the hardest part of coming up with the posts for this series was identifying the things in my life that help me to be productive, simply because those things are habitual for me at this point. I think I've managed to identify a few keys, though, and I'll share one each Thursday for the month of November.
Next to, "Do you include toiletries in your grocery budget?" probably the most common question I get is, "Don't you ever sleep???", presumably because readers think my secret to productivity involves late night work sessions and very little sleep.
That couldn't be farther from the truth, though.
In fact, I usually get far more sleep than the average American. Getting 8 hours of sleep (which seems to be the right amount for me) is a very, very high priority for me because getting enough sleep is essential for productivity. I can't expect to be on top of my game if I'm shuffling through my day in a sleepy stupor, and you probably can't either.
I don't feel too great if I only get 6 or 7 hours of sleep, so when I hear of people consistently getting only 4-5 hours of sleep, a mixture of horror, awe, and pity washes over me. Dear fellow people! Why do you torture yourselves this way??
I have a few guesses, and they're as follows.
1. I'm too busy!
I know you're probably thinking something like, "I don't have tiiiiime to be in bed for 8 hours!!!", but I'd say you probably don't have time to not be in bed for 8 hours (or whatever number is right for you). Depriving yourself of sleep in order to get things done is like shooting yourself in the foot.
How so? People who sleep for only 4-5 hours may have more time in their day than someone who sleeps for 8 hours, but I'd venture to guess that the person running on 8 hours of sleep is going to get at least as much done as the person who slept for 4-5 hours, simply because the 8 hour person will have more energy.
Give it a try and see if that doesn't hold true for you. For a week, get yourself to bed on time, and see how things go. My guess is that you won't find yourself to be behind in your work, and you might even be ahead.
2. Sleep doesn't matter that much.
It does, and not just from a productivity standpoint. Studies have shown that sleep-deprived people are at a greater risk for heart problems, weight gain, and a compromised immune system among other things. And you don't need a study to tell you that sleep-deprived people are crabby. So, why are you still staying up so late? Get yourself to bed! 😉
3. But I'm a night owl!
Now, I know that some people are naturally night owls. I'm not, but I know they're out there and I'm actually married to one.
If you're a night owl and your life/family/work allows you to stay up late and get up late, more power to you. If it's working for you, don't mess with it!
However, an awful lot of night owls have life/family/work obligations that prevent them from sleeping late. For those people, staying up late means depriving themselves of sleep. If you're one of those people, stop living in denial and get your booty into bed at a decent hour.
Mr. FG would love to stay up late and sleep late, but it's been a good many years since he's been able to do that, mostly because of his work schedules. Getting up early is not optional for him, so the only path to enough sleep is an early bedtime. This is not at all his natural inclination, but it's the most responsible option for him right now.
So, if you're a night owl, take courage! If Mr. FG, a natural night owl, can go to bed at 8:30 PM, you probably can get to bed earlier too.
Practical Help
So, maybe you're convinced that you need to get a decent night's sleep, but you're just not sure how to get that accomplished. Simply telling yourself, "I'll get to bed earlier from now on!" isn't usually sufficient.
Here are a few things that help me to get into bed on time. Though I doubt any of you need to go to bed at 8:30 pm, hopefully some of these ideas will be helpful to you.
1. Turn off your TV/computer/phone/distracting electronic device
Staying up late and actually being productive is one thing, but our electronic devices often tempt us to stay up late without even accomplishing anything! Turning them off at a set time helps me to get into bedtime mode.
If you need to go to bed at 10:00, turn your TV off at 9:00. If you watch that 9:00-10:00 show, you're never going to make it into bed at 10:00. And you might even be tempted to stay up and watch the 10:00-11:00 show!
2. Start getting ready for bed before you actually need to go to bed.
If I want to be in bed at 8:30, I can't start getting ready for bed at 8:30. Instead, I usually start my evening activities around 7:30 (brushing my teeth, taking out my contact lenses, shutting my computer down, making sure the kitchen tasks are finished, and so on).
On nights when we're on schedule, Mr. FG and I usually head to our bedroom around 8:00 to wind down. We read our own books in bed before turning out the light, or Mr. FG reads to me while I do some mindless activity like ironing or crocheting (I've been making a Build-A-Bear scarf for Sonia's bear this month).
This way when 8:30 rolls around, we're actually ready to turn out the lights and go to sleep.
3. Set yourself up for success.
I've found that I have a hard time getting to bed at 8:30 if I don't get other evening tasks early enough. For instance, if we eat dinner later than 5:00 or 5:30, we have a hard time getting that cleaned up in time to get the kids ready for family worship (in the evenings, we read the Bible and pray together).
And if we don't have family worship at 7:00 or earlier, we have a hard time getting Sonia and Zoe into bed on time.
And if we don't get them into bed on time, I can't start my evening routine early enough to get myself into bed.
So for me, a proper bedtime routine starts before dinner.
I'm sure your life looks different than mine, but look at your evenings and see if you can identify some scheduling problems that are making it hard for you to get to bed. Then think about ways to fix those issues.
4. Remind yourself of the benefits of sleep and the downsides of being tired.
Think about how awful it feels to be exhausted, think about how hard it will be to be patient with your spouse/children/co-workers if you're sleep-deprived, and then think about how much better you'll feel tomorrow if you go to bed.
I know how dreadful I feel when I don't get enough sleep, and thinking about that is usually sufficient motivation for me to get into bed.
So, go get some sleep this week, and next Thursday I'll have another productivity idea for your well-rested self to apply! 😉
a couple of disclaimers:
-I'm not addressing sleep problems like insomnia. I'm talking about the run-of-the-mill "whoops, I stayed up too late!" kind of sleep deprivation.
-Parents of new babies are going to be a little sleep-deprived in the best of situations. My best advice for moms and dads in that phase of life is to go to bed when your baby goes to bed if that's at all possible. It's tempting to stay up late and enjoy the quiet and peace, but you'll probably regret it the next day.
This is the 3rd or 4th blog I've seen about sleep.
Maybe a hint?
zzzzz thanks!
3 or 4 just today?? It must be sleep day in the blogosphere. lol
Or maybe you're referring to the times I mentioned sleep in my breakfast series. I just can't help myself...I think sleep is so, so, important, and I want everyone in the world to get enough of it!
must be the weather! raining, a good day for sleep!
Funny that you post this today... on a day that I'm extraordinarily sleepy. And I LOVED seeing that I should turn off my electronics an hour early. I read that somewhere else this week.
Two days ago I managed to turn off my computer an hour before bedtime and it was GREAT. Yesterday I didn't get home until 6:30, went to the gym, got back at 8, had dinner, and blogged. By then it was 10 and I was already a disaster. I literally wasn't asleep asleep until 11. And waking up at 5:45? Made me want to rip out my hair today.
I'm going to try and be better. I'm on the computer all day at work (where I am now!) and I can just finish blogging quickly at night and do everything at work the next day (emails mostly).
I'm going to try to get 8 hrs this week! (tho I could REALLY use 10 ;))
My biggest problem with getting enough sleep is definitely work. My boyfriend and I work together and we leave the house at 5 a.m. and get home around 5:15 p.m. There just isn't much time to make dinner and lunches, clean up the kitchen, relax a little bit, and get to bed at a decent hour. Fortunately we only have to work four days a week.
If I start feeling bad about it though, I can just think of our former jobs where we worked 12 hour days and had a two hour daily commute. Our lifestyle is much nicer now.
Oh my goodness! 12 days and two hours of commuting is definitely rough.
Do you catch up on sleep on the weekends?
Well, this couldn't be more timely. I stayed up too late last night, got 5 hours of sleep and now am trying to get my work done while chasing my kiddos. Definitely agree. Get sleep. I will be more diligent. Thank you for the post. Have a great day!
I am right with you on needing a full night's sleep, although I've found 7 hours to be the perfect amount for me. I have some friends who consistently only get 5 hours and I have no idea how they're still alive. I turn extra grumpy when I'm sleepy, so it would not be a pretty sight!
I know. Some people do seem to manage well on 5 hours, but I just can't. lol
As a runner, I like to do most of my runs in the morning before work, which requires me to be up between 4:45 and 5am. That means going to bed before 9 is super important. Unfortunately the hubby is a night owl and at times has kept me up til 9:30 or later. He usually doesn't sleep until he feels tired (after midnight) and always wants me to stay up with him. As a non-runner, he doesn't understand that while it's not hard to run after only 5 hours of sleep, the problem is I have no energy by noon! He works until 5:30 or 6 so we only have a few hours together before it's my bed time. We've only been married 4 months and it's been a bit of a struggle to adjust to each other's sleep needs.
Does he get up early? If he got up early, he'd probably be tired before midnight! Mr. FG doesn't naturally like to go to bed early, but since he gets up so early, he has no problem being tired enough to go to bed on time.
we currently live 1 hour and 20 minutes from my husband's job. moving that far away was a huge mistake (moving closer as soon as we can), but that has definitely taught us the value in a full night's sleep. although, i have to say, it seems much easier for him to run on next to nothing than it is for me. i'm not sure if he's just one of those people who doesn't need much or what, but if i don't have between 7-9 hours a night, i just can't function properly.
Almost everything we do is habit. And even though we know down deep the habit isn't the best for us, we still find excuses to maintain them. And then, once the level of pain is enough that we do make the change, we wonder why it took SO LONG to do it!
I couldn't agree with you more on this topic. My husband and I both need sleep and are in bed by 9:00-9:30 and I get up at 6:15 and him 6:45 so we are both getting more then 8 hours and if I don't I am completely beside myself and find myself grumpy, short with my kids and crabby......not fair to myself or anyone around me. I could never imagine 5-6 hours of sleep a night.
Totally agree on the crabbiness...I feel like the unselfish thing to do is to go to sleep because otherwise I will inflict a crabby mom on my children the next day! lol
Thanks for this post. My husband and I have HORRIBLE sleep habits. We usually don't start getting ready for bed until midnight and don't actually get to sleep until 1am, then up at 6:30am. I'm chronically exhausted and have immune deficiencies because of it. My problem? My husband is addicted to his computer and will not get off until at least midnight. He resolutely insists he's an insomniac and just as resolutely refuses to realize that all of his computer time overstimulates his brain so he isn't tired. I'd REALLY love for him to power everything down earlier. For some reason, I canNOT sleep when there's electronic activity in the house, regardless of how quiet or dark the bedroom is. I'm sooo jealous of those people who actually get enough sleep because I don't see any in my future!
Having a bedtime routine definitely helps--I've been reading for half an hour before bed for years, and now it acts as a signal to my body and mind to wind down and get ready for bed. And reading is great because I can do it anywhere--camping, on vacation, etc. From someone who is in her late forties, I'm here to tell you that it doesn't get any easier to get a good night's sleep once you get older. Start good sleep habits now!
I have found melatonin to be a helpful supplement for restless nights and trouble sleeping due to time changes and travel.
I've known I've needed to change my sleep patterns for a while now. Thanks for the nudge in the right direction!
I'm glad it felt like a nudge and not a shove. I found myself being slightly more authoritative than usual and had second thoughts about that!
it's hard for us to get to bed early. my husband works 2:45-11:15pm mostly. although he sometimes works day shift 6:45-3:15pm. on those mights we try to go to bed at 10 or 10:30 but sometimes we stay up around 12:30 because that's our only time together w/ out kids. but fortunately we homeschool so we sleep until around 8. but it would be awesome if we had a consistent sleep schedule. hoping for one day that my husband will work first shift for good. he did at one point & although i'm a natural night owl, i was so sleepy at 9pm from getting up w/ with my husband at 5:30 to help him get around. & i actually enjoyed the quiet time to myself in the morning w/ my coffee. (especially in summer, drinking it outside)
I know you wrote this post just for me. Nice of you to share it with a few others 😛
This is really interesting to me!
I'm a senior in college and I would love beyond belief to have a consistent schedule. Not just for sleep, but for ANYTHING. 3 days a week I have to get up around 4:45. One day I have to be up around 9. One day I don't have anywhere to be until 1. Lots of sleep experts say "get up at the same time every day!" yeahhh... not getting up at 4:45 if I don't have to!
Some days I have class until 8, other days I'm done at 2. Some days I have meetings till 10pm and THEN I get to do homework. Pulling allnighters or getting 2-4 hours of sleep isn't at all uncommon for me (or most college students, I think). I certainly hope some of this gets easier after graduation. I would LOVE to get 8 hours of sleep a night... or... you know, ever.
I hear you...we don't get up at 4:40 on the weekends! lol We do try to go to bed sort of on the early side, though.
Could you do your homework in the afternoon on those days that you get done with classes at 2:00?
I hope your schedule calms down after you graduate!
After 2 I have a spin class and a yoga class at the school recreation center, I LOVE them and without them I wouldn't be able to focus on homework.
Since I don't have to be anywhere until 1:30 on Thursdays I try to get as much done then as I can. Some weeks that's all I need, sometimes it's just going to have to be a late night.
I certainly do too! This summer was AMAZING. I worked 10-6:30 and then hung out with friends, was in bed by 11 and up at 9. i was very lucky that my work is .3 miles from my hosue!
This really hits home. I find myself addicted to the peace and quiet after the kids go to bed. I knit and watch TV and just. stop. thinking. It feels so good. I have tried the ultra-early morning thing and do enjoy it but with Christmas around the corner, when will my knitted gifts get done?? However, I may need to start getting up for an early morning jog soon as my pants aren't fitting as well after Halloween 🙂 I usually end up substituting coffee for sleep.
I read somewhere that one of the greatest gifts we can give our child is teaching them to sleep
This is something that I struggle with, so I am looking forward to this series!!! I have often wondered how you do it all, and maybe secretly you hire a house cleaner or something! hehe 😛
I do have my kids clean, but I don't exactly hire them. lol
And despite the help they provide, I still think they're a net loss as far as cleanliness goes. Hee.
Sleep is very important. I find if I drink a cup of milk before bed that helps. I also find if I go easier on myself and do the best I can I can get more sleep.
Thanks for the great post! I really need 8 hrs as well and sometimes feel guilty saying I go to bed at 9:30. But my family is always happier when I have had my 8 hrs:)
You read the bible with your kids each night and are in bed by 830?!? This is so far from my reality, but I really enjoy reading your blog for the homemade bread and other recipes and such.
The 8:30 thing is only because we have to, due to Mr. FG's schedule...it's definitely not what we'd choose on our own. 🙂
Just wondering what you will do when your children reach the age that they stay up later than you do? And also, how do you all go to bed so early in the summer during daylight savings time when the sun doesn't set until very late? Do you have blackout shades?
Joshua and Lisey already do! lol Joshua goes to bed at 9:00 and Lisey goes at 8:30 (We're usually in bed reading before then). We give them hugs and such before we go to bed, and they put themselves in bed.
In the summer, we do all have shades and blinds, but it's usually a little bit light in our rooms at bedtime. We're usually tired enough to go to sleep, though.
I love this Kristen! We have been making it a point to go to bed earlier and it's been a lot easier since we cut the cable. We aren't getting sucked into shows that we "must" finish. I enjoy reading to each other while we are getting sleepy too. Can I ask what time you get up on this sleep schedule? My hubby has to get up extra early for a long commute to D.C, so early bedtimes are a must for him if he expects to function at work the next day. I go to bed the same time he does and find I'm a much kinder mama because of it!
We try to be in bed by 8:00 or 8:30 and are up at 4:40. Not my ideal schedule (and certainly not Mr. FG's ideal!), but it is what it is. 🙂
I must say, I really admire that you go to bed at the same time as your husband and get up with him also. It's hard for me to get up with mine on the days that I'm off and he works. Sleeping in that extra hour or so is quite tempting!! Has there ever been a point in your marriage where you didn't consistently go to bed at the same time or get up at the same time as your husband? Love your blog, btw! 🙂
Yes! When I was pregnant with Sonia and super sick, I slept as much as was humanly possible. I went to bed really early with Mr. FG and then stayed in bed until Joshua and Lisey needed to get up.
I think in those days we had to be in bed at 6:30 or 7:00 PM, so that schedule was even worse.
When I'm not pregnant and sick, I have a really hard time going back to sleep once I'm woken up, so I don't think I'd do too well at getting extra sleep if I tried! Mr. FG's alarm and morning activities would wake me up.
You are such a sensible lady. I am in my late fifties and have always needed at least 8 hours sleep just to function normally, many of my friends do not and this always made me feel guilty and a lazy bones. In our younger days when we had overnight trips to London (I live in the UK) or other weekend jaunts come 11 p.m. I was ready for bed while they still wanted to go on partying until the wee small hours Just read this blog and had a eureka moment my sister who is ten years older is exactly the same as me sleep wise, as was our Mother. I guess sometimes sleep is a genetic issue and maybe we have inherited her 'sleep genes'! One thing I have noticed over the years is that when I do not get enough sleep the weight piles on, usually because my body craves sugary treats. Great blog, thank you for your honesty.
Just wondering whether you still go to bed at 8:30 in the summer when it's still light out? I find that it's extremely difficult for me to go to bed in the 9s in June, when the sun doesn't set around here until close to 10:00pm. My body just won't believe it's time for bed yet. It's not such a problem in the winter.
(Obviously, I also don't have to get up as early as you do!)
When we're on that schedule, then yep, we keep it consistent through the summer. We shut the blinds, shut our eyes, and go to sleep.
It helps a lot if you get up super early...then you are so tired, it's hard not to fall asleep. Ha.