Health

Today I’m sharing goal #8 of my “11-in-2011″ challenge — it’s a good one!

I’ve talked A LOT about time management since I started this blog back in July…and one of MY major time management goals for 2011 is to get more sleep. Who’s with me?

Goal #8: Get More Sleep

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Growing up, I ALWAY got at least 8 hours of sleep…even all through college! If I had to wake up early, I was in bed by 9:30 or 10:00pm, no questions asked. I didn’t even have a curfew!

{Dave thought it would be fun to  put a picture of me right after I woke up…I opted for our bed instead!}

However, as I get older and acquire more responsibilities, commitments, and a job I can literally work 24/7; my bedtime continues to move later and later into the night!

Can you relate?

I suppose if I work towards Goal #5 and get better at managing my time, then I’ll be able to achieve Goal #8 of getting more sleep, only to wake up and practice Goal #1 of making my bed — and I’ll be so refreshed after a full night’s sleep that I’ll probably get all the rest of my goals accomplished too! Ah, it’s all such a vicious cycle

Anyway, here are five things I’ve been doing to help me get a few more minutes of shut-eye.

1. I get ready for the next day after dinner.

After we’re done eating, I usually spend a few minutes cleaning up the kitchen, loading the dishwasher, wiping down the table, etc. I also use this time to pack my lunch, pick my clothes out, and make sure I’m “ready to go” for the next day. This only takes me a few minutes and it allows me to sleep longer in the morning

2. I turn off the computer.

Ok, I haven’t been doing a great job of this lately, but my goal is to have the computer turned off by 11:00pm {or earlier}. This give me a chance to wind down and turn my brain off from work mode…which is really hard to do!

3. I put a heating blanket on our bed.

And who wouldn’t want to crawl into a toasty warm bed on a cold winter night?

4. I limited my evening commitments.

As of January 1, I official quit 3 different comities I was part of. One met every Wednesday night, one met every Thursday night, and the other one met a few times per month. I now have TONS more time to get things done in the evenings…which helps me get to bed that much earlier.

5.  I wear ear plugs!

Well, actually I only wear ONE ear plug because I sleep on my side! Seriously though, I’m a really light sleeper and nearly any noise wakes me up, so sleeping with my earplug in prevents lots of lost sleep!

What are your secrets for getting more sleep?

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