This post was sitting in my drafts for 5 years when I was still working as the Business Development Lead at Latham & Watkins running their Technology Transactions, IP & Privacy Group!
It’s nice to look back and reflect on how I thrive under a personal routine that includes waking up at 5AM. I would not have been able to accomplish everything I have if I slept in.
It was also nice to take a look at my professional rearview mirror, see what I accomplished then and what I have accomplished since then. I was so tired of constantly having to prove myself to folks – show them I could do things even without a degree. But that was exhausting and demoralizing. I make sure to remember that when interviewing candidates.
The classes I allude to below were community college classes I took while regularly working 60+ hour work weeks. If I hadn’t attended those classes, I would not have transferred to Stanford to get my CS degree and I would still be longing for a degree. Time passes whether you want to or not – why not change with it?
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Winding down from an incredibly busy Summer schedule of taking my first Computer Science class in addition to another Summer class, setting up a stay at home Summer Camp for the monkeys, revving up for my Tech group’s practice group retreat, training and generally kicking ass at work I thought – why not try to sleep in?
I am a morning person. I doubt I was naturally wired that way, I think it was more to do with my parents always being out the door by 4:30 AM to go to work while we were growing up. If I wanted a morning hug, I had to sleep on the sofa to make sure I would stir at the sound of showers, blow dryers and my mother doing dinner prep. Some of my most cherished childhood memories are of my mother bending over me on the couch, as I pretended to be asleep while inhaling deeply the calming mixture of perfume and coffee, to whisper in my ear that I could sleep on their bed. If I was up early enough, I could catch her while she put on her perfume and applied her lipstick as I snuggled up in their bed, the blankets still warm from their bodies. I would inevitably fall back asleep until my older sister would nudge me to wake up and get ready for school.
Years of that routine shaped my sleep cycle. When I got older those early mornings were replaced with early morning swim practice, then early morning work schedules, crack of dawn runs and then generally getting up early to be a mom.
So against the wisdom that I know best what works for my body I decided to listen to others and try sleeping in. Instead of my usual 5 AM alarm I woke up naturally to the sunlight prying my eyelids open. Okay maybe not naturally. It was actually pretty awful. The later I tried to sleep in, the more tired I felt. Mornings are my only free time for running and Insanity workouts so my later schedule cut into my exercise regime.
Finally I stepped onto a scale and almost levitated in shock when I saw the number (lack of exercise). The very next day, okay no the day after, I went back to an earlier wake up schedule.
I woke up at 5:30 AM and felt amazing. I got up and made myself a soy latte with my Nespresso machine and read through work email from London, I watched some YouTube tutorial videos relevant to a project I am working on and the went for a 4 mile run. I didn’t try to get back to my usual 5 – 6 mile runs without stopping. I stopped to walk when I needed to and ran when I could. It just felt so good to be out.
I felt alert and relaxed.
I got to work by 8:15 AM and jumped right into my various projects and calls.
Susana Benavidez 