Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Good morning. This is Laura.
Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is about how not to crash on weekends.
Being a bit more careful about sleep during the week means you can enjoy your discretionary time on weekends without having to spend that time overcoming weekday exhaustion.
Today's tip, like a few others this week, comes from my new book, Tranquility by Tuesday, nine ways to calm the chaos and make time for what matters.
This book shows how 150 people became more satisfied with their time as they followed my nine favorite time management rules.
One of those rules, indeed the first rule, is to give yourself a bedtime.
Many people have a very strong sleep set point.
Let's say you need seven and a half hours of sleep a day, which is a pretty common number.
If you sleep six and a half hours for a few days in a row, your body is going to force you to make that time up.
That's why people crash on the couch while watching TV, or fall asleep while putting their kids to bed, or sleep through alarms, or hit snooze three times, or sleep in and nap on weekends.
Now, there is nothing wrong with a nice nap on a weekend afternoon.
But if you work a full -time job, most of your potential leisure and family time is likely going to happen on weekends.
Do you really want to spend this potential leisure and family time, sleeping off a weekday debt?
It might be nicer to go for an early morning run or bike ride with a friend, and then still get to spend the whole day with your family, versus sleeping in later, if that's even possible, or crashing on the couch at some inopportune point if it is not.
It might be better not to be groggy when your kids get up early, which then leads to you bickering with your spouse over who covers, and then both of you crashing during any little kidnaps, rather than getting some waking leisure time.
Weekend hours can be wonderful hours.
Cutting sleep short during the week means you are substituting weekend sleep hours for weekday hours.
Now, that might make sense if those waking weekday hours were of higher quality.
than the weekend hours you are giving up.
But think about it for a few minutes, and you'll see that for many people, they probably aren't.
Most adults have to wake up at a set time for work or family responsibilities.
What changes is the time people go to bed.
We often stay up late, scrolling around online, or streaming that next show.
That is what we are choosing, instead of being alert and well -rested for the weekend.
So why not put a stop to the late night scrolling or TV watching and go to bed on time?
Tranquility by Tuesday rule number one is to give yourself a bedtime.
If you get the amount of sleep you need each night, you won't enter the weekend with a sleep debt that must be paid.
That means you'll be able to take full advantage of your weekend.
You can exercise or do other personal pursuits in the early mornings and still have enough energy for your family.
If you've got little kids who wake up early, you won't feel so desperate.
You'll be able to enjoy some leisure time during their naps or when you trade off with your partner, or after they go to bed, rather than simply crashing.
I think that sounds like a good trade -off.
That's why I do my best to be in bed with the lights out by 11 p .m.
every night. I need to wake up at 6 .30 in the morning most mornings, and I need about seven and a half hours of sleep.
When I do that consistently, I wake up at the same time on weekends, and I can enjoy some quiet reading or a long run and still make it back for kid activities and weekend family adventures.
Now, I know that a bedtime doesn't exactly sound like a ton of fun.
It conjures up all those power struggles from childhood.
But again, since most of us need to wake up at set times on weekday mornings, think of it this way.
Going to bed early is how grown -ups sleep in.
Now, doesn't that sound indulgent?
So figure out what time you need to wake up on weekdays.
Figure out how much sleep you need.
Count back and embrace this bedtime.
If you observe it faithfully, you will no longer need to crash on weekends.
You can be energized and awake to enjoy your days off.
In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening.
And here's to making the most of our time.
Hey, everybody. I'd love to hear from you.
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at BeforeBreakfastPod.
That's B -E, the number four, then breakfast, P -O -D.
You can also shoot me an e -mail at BeforeBreakfastPodcast at IHeartMedia .com.
That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Thanks so much. I look forward to staying in touch.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.
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