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I really did…no snooze nothing.
The epiphany came after I read the chapter on sleep in the book “Small Move, Big Change: Using Micro-resolutions to Transform Your Life Permanently”.
I highly recommend reading it because it has some great pieces of wisdom that can be used right away.
What is a Micro-resolution
A micro-resolution is a small promise you make to yourself to do a tiny task on a daily basis. There is zero-tolerance for missing this task as it is so easy to do that you have no excuse to miss it.
Let me give you an example.
I have a gym in my building, so a resolution I could make to myself would be to simply make it to the gym every morning and do 10 bicep curls.
Here’s why this is so genius:
- It’s super easy to do — The gym is in my building, all I have to do is go downstairs. There really is no excuse and if I miss it, I have to look myself in the mirror and be honest with my failure.
- It starts a chain reaction — When I’m at the gym, there’s no way I’m only doing 10 bicep curls. I’ve passed the hardest part, just getting my ass to the gym.
Doing these tiny habits over and over without missing a beat builds momentum and lets us tackle progressively harder problems.
BJ Fogg also offers a 5-day course on creating your first automatic habit. It’s a free email course which shouldn’t be missed.
So? What is the Sleep Hack
It’s about 10pm at my place and I’m just about to plop down in front of the TV to get my nightly fix of Homeland.
I don’t know about you but 30–40 minutes into watching TV I start to fall asleep on my couch.
When I wake up I want to head to bed and just pass out but I know I have to go through my nightly ritual to get ready for bed.
So what do I do?
You guessed it — NOTHING — I just continue sleeping.
When I finally get up and brush my teeth, etc. after I’m done I’m wide awake from the nap and can’t sleep!
So now I do two things BEFORE I sit down to watch TV:
- Plug my phone into the charger for the next day
- Brush my teeth and prepare for bed
This may seem like a tiny change but the impact is IMMENSE.
Now there are no breaks in my sleep cycle and I can fall asleep much easier.
How many of these scenarios do you have in your life? Where a tiny change could make a huge impact.
Start with BJ’s course and then tweet at me:
Oh P.S. — I’m doing Movember