The key to Damn Early Days is getting a solid bedtime ritual in place and not letting yourself party too hard on the weekends. On the Saturday before week two began, we celebrated my grandmother’s 80^th birthday. We do not do anything small so naturally, there was a big party. Almost everyone came in from out of town. There was dancing, music, laughter, and a round of honorary speeches. A jolly good time. Even though I stayed up late, I kept with the ritual of waking up at 6am on weekend days (as the program recommends) to make the even earlier starts during the week a little easier.

Monday was not easy in the slightest. I was still recovering from the party Saturday night. I felt grumpy, a little overwhelmed, and I definitely needed a couple cups of coffee. I had a lot on my mind going into week two. I wrote pages and pages on my computer and in my journal.

Tuesday and Wednesday were not much different from Monday.

Thursday was the most challenging Damn Early Day so far. For the first time during Chasing Sunrise, I hit snooze (but only for 5 minutes). I didn’t write at all. I didn’t feel like it. I was tired and a fair shake of grumpy again. Instead, I cooked a breakfast instead of our usual smoothie, finished up some laundry, and snuggled my dog on the couch while drinking coffee. The breakfast I made spurred a morning date with Charlie. It was what I needed, even if it wasn’t what I set out to accomplish that morning. I just followed my whims as they arose instead of settling into the structured mornings I had followed the previous eight days.

On Friday I achieved ten out of ten for checking in on time to Chasing Sunrise. The second week was tough, in large part due to going to bed later than planned two nights. That makes getting out of bed super early the next morning excruciating. This resulted in no writing one day and minimal writing another day during week two.

Even with the challenges and the difficulty of just being purely tired, I overcame it. The thing is, I really, REALLY like early mornings. The quiet. The intention of it. Even when I was tired and it was hard to roll out of bed, I was greedy for those morning moments so I got up. Just getting out of bed is the hardest part.

Through Chasing Sunrise, I am learning a lot about myself. The second week I learned a strength of mine: committing to something and following through on it. I think this is something that has made me a “sleeper pick” in life because I what I lack in talent I make up for in the sheer determination to succeed and learn.

It’s the simple recipe I use for whatever I set out to do, including Chasing Sunrise:

Step 1: Identify what you want.

Step 2: Come up with a plan.

Step 3: Implement the plan.

Step 4: Stick to the plan and be resourceful where it doesn’t work out.

The most important thing is to have fun.

The last two weeks, I have been doing just that. While a couple mornings were sprinkled with grumpiness, the rest of the days were overflowing with joy, happiness, good vibes, and reconnecting with the things that are most important.