The great flippity-flop...

I work at an online media company. We do very little print work and when we do…it’s a pretty big deal. Yesterday afternoon we were working on the production schedule for a large print project. A production schedule is basically a project plan with a very detailed list of every step in the process including the due dates for each task. The way you put together the schedule is to start with the date you need the printed materials and work backwards.

Work backwards! I had an epiphany. If I want to go to the gym before work, I have to plan my schedule backwards! That may seem obvious to most of you, but it wasn’t to me. I had been doing this all wrong. I had started with I want to hit the gym at 5:45 am. What I really needed to do was start with what time I need to go to sleep to make this happen. I need to go to sleep earlier to get to the gym bright and early.

Unlike many people I know who like to boast about how little sleep they need, I need a full 8-9 hours to be at my best. Always have, probably always will. I can certainly function with less, but not at my peak (and not without being cranky).

Check out the schedule I’m going to try for the next week to see how it works:

9:00 pm	Tucked in snug as a bug
5:30 am	Wake-up bright eyed and bushy tailed
5:45 am	Happily at gym
6:45 am	Leave gym feeling great
7:00 am	Get ready for the day
8:00 am	Head to the office
6:30 pm	Journey home
7:00 pm	Dinner, chores and relax

This is going to be a real change for me as I usually go to sleep around midnight. And, I need to plan in advance so all of life’s chores are done on the weekend to make this “go to gym in the morning” schedule reality.

Wish me luck.