#FollowTheSun Update: Waking Up Later

Liz and I both agreed that we needed to get up a bit later starting last week because we both got hit with the same cold at the same time and the sun is rising after 0630 these days.  It's still quite dark during morning twilight.

For now, wake up time is at 0630, but we still do lights out at 2045 which means we have to use lamps after sunset until lights out.  Given that I often get home from work at 1900 or after, we need that time to get dinner together and eat it.

We switched the lamp next to Liz's side of the bed with something that produces softer light.  60-watt incandescents feel much too bright around lights-out time.  We keep the lamps on long enough to light some candles and for Liz to take care of her contact lenses.  

I've had a night or two where I am getting up in the middle of the night because we are sleeping with the windows open as much as we can and the allergens are coming to get me.  So I get up and blow my nose and sometimes I get to thinking about things and that keeps me up.  If I am desperate I cheat with the screens long enough to put on some audio that will help me to think less.  An audiobook or youtube does the trick.

Hunting around for things in the dark is a real challenge.  My memory for where things are is quite good.  I'll even remember the position of a glass of water on the dinner table if I sit down in the pitch black.  I surprise myself sometimes. 

That being said, there are times I simply haven't noted the location of something and I have to grope for it.  Like that one time I was groping on the drying mat next to the sink.  I groped and felt the rough shape of my chef's knife.  I moved it into the knife block and decided I better not grope around that drying mat anymore.  I can't even remember what I was after.

Another thing I have observed: Just forget about trying to figure out what color anything is until sunrise.  It's not happening unless you take it outside during the late part of morning twilight.

I have learned to keep my pajamas by the bedside.  It's still quite warm at lights-out and doesn't get cool until the middle of the night and I deal with this by shedding and adding layers.  

Layering: It's good for hiking and good for sleeping.

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Photo Credit: 'Night-Shining' - Black Point, Anglesey | Taken: 1:11am, Jun… | Flickr

Follow The Sun Week 3: The Beauty of Structure

The most delightful and unexpected outcome of our follow the sun experiment is that the sunlight imposes structure on our days.  Liz and I would never have chosen to read during dinner and then walk and talk after sunset before this experiment.  But the limitations imposed by sunset created the conditions where it is now justified to do this. The structure of our days forces us out of what had been the default into something else: a new opportunity to make an intentional choice about what we do with our time.    

How long do we intend to keep on doing this?  Probably for the next month at least.  Then August will come and shatter this structure with some family beach time.  Family time is well worth it, I think.

How could we continue this into the winter?  I am thinking that we can keep the summer sun schedule.  Awake at 0600.  Lights out at 845p.  Make up the shorter days with artificial lights until lights out.  Could be good.

Photo Credit: Sunrise by Tim RT | Flickr

Follow The Sun: Week 2

As Week 2 rolls to a close on this experiment, Liz was asking me about what I like and what I don't like about our current experiment.

When I come home from work each night, I don't have to choose what I am going to do. I have about 2 hours of daylight left and some of that is going to be spent preparing and eating dinner, the remainder will be used reading. Then Liz and I go for a walk, get ready for bed, and chat until we fall asleep.

More Time in The Mornings

Theoretically I have more time in the morning but being sleepy really reduces my consistency and effectiveness in the morning. Sometimes I write. Often I do exercises or go running. This morning I went back to bed and snuggled up with Liz for an extra 75 minutes of Zs.

I have to wash the litter box this morning. My once a month ritual. I love that there is no question that I have time to do this in the morning.

No Obviously Good Time for certain activities

Some things just don't belong in the morning.

I don't seem to have any time to play Hearthstone, a video game that I play with friends, right now. Given the habit-forming "just one more game" nature of the activity, it would be a bad practice of discipline to do it first thing in the morning. And the evening hours are severely really limited, so video gaming just doesn't fit anywhere on weekdays.

Luckily, I get to scratch my gaming itch via board games. I have co-workers that tend to want to gather for "board game happy-hours". Instead of hitting a bar, it's beers and board games just before we leave the office. This is really nice since I don't drink.

Bass Guitar also doesn't feel like it fits anywhere. But because of it's creative nature, it's a higher value activity than playing a video game like Hearthstone. I think I can make happen in the early morning only if I use headphones. But first I need to finish adjusting the action on my Bass.

I haven't been good about making time for Ukulele since we started this experiment, though I did make it to the NVUS Ukulele Meetup on Sunday for song share night. I can probably make daily practice happen in the early morning if I go down to the basement to practice.

And Liz and I haven't watched a minute of TV since we started this. She thinks it's good. I don't mind an episode a day of something fun.

What I don't like is that I have made some cuts from my life to make this work and it feels a bit narrow range.

Weekends still only work if we cheat sunset by staying out.

Friday night we out to Glen Echo for Balboa night. We were in bed about 2 hours later than usual and then, at 4 AM the Smoke detectors decided to deliver some false alarms. The new ones are functioning well, by the way.

Saturday I got up early to run and, though we had the option to go to a party immediately following a dinner/hangout in DC, Liz and I chose to go home in time for sunset.

And our weekly Sunday night dinner with the family inevitably involves leaving after sunset. My family time is awesome, no need to cut that short.

Photo Credit

Paseo De Los Turistas by Nestor Herrera Montoya / 500px

Following the Sun: Week 1

I am waking up at 6am these days. 0600.

For a guy who has an average wake up time of about 0800, this is a big shift. I have worked west-coast hours my entire adult life. It is a coping mechanism for the oppressive traffic patterns that come with living in the DC Metro area. To my body, it first felt like waking up at 0300. Now it's the new normal.

Lights Out at Sunset

Starting last week, Liz and I are trying something new. We are shutting down all of the lights and screens in the house shortly after sunset. No artificial lights if we can help it.

This usually happens around 2045 or so. The house is pretty dark by then. We light a couple candles, sit and talk. And then we go and brush and floss by candlelight in the bathroom and then we lie down in bed and talk for a bit before we get tired.

It used to be that I would get tired and go brush and floss and get ready for bed. I would read for a good while before falling asleep.

Now, when the sun has set we turn the lights out as well. There is no reading myself to sleep. At first I missed it. But I find that I feel tired and fall asleep after lying there for a bit. And the book is always there waiting for me in the morning.

I have to plan to get my reading done during the daylight hours now. Often this is in the morning before work and just a bit after dinner before lights out. It's a bit of a guilty pleasure reading fiction early in the morning but it makes for an unrushed feeling about each day.

Mornings At Sunrise

Waking up early hasn't made me efficient. I imagine that I will be able to squeeze in all the things most mornings: Coffee and breakfast. Exercise. Reading. Writing. Music.

In practice, the exercise, writing, and music don't always happen on a daily basis. Some mornings I spend too much time reading the streams of the BookFace. I can pretty much tell you that I always have to drop one of my morning activities because I run out of time.

I used to work 1000 to 1900... but dinner is pretty close to lights out if I get home at 1930, so I intend to start and end work earlier. This will also cut into morning time somewhat. Maybe I will get more efficient over time.

Weekends are especially challenging. It's hard to tear away from the party... hard to get home early enough from evening visits with friends and family to do our shutdown right around sunset. So we pushed into the night a little bit. We will have to find a way to adapt. Maybe by flexing our own rules, maybe by being disciplined about leaving on time.

Changing The Flow

Overall, this has the feel of an experiment to play with the flow of life. In our culture we celebrate being busy and efficient as if it's a good thing without qualification. Sometimes it is good. For instance, if you are holding depression at bay. Slow meandering action is better than no action in this case.

I tend to struggle with something other than depression: the feeling that I don't have enough time for everything I want to learn. I struggle with wondering whether all of the busy I inflict upon myself will add up to contribution and achievement which matters to me in the longest of runs.

Now that the night enforces a routine of rest and quiet upon me, I feel like I have just a bit more mental space. Nothing to read. No devices. Just my own thoughts and talking with Liz while we snuggle.

Last night, we got to talking about work and Liz could tell it was a topic that was going to make it harder for me to sleep. We decided to drop the topic and she stroked my back gently to help settle my mind until she fell asleep. That was really, really nice.

I suspect this sort of practice would break just about any couple out of a rut of feeling like they don't talk to one another enough.

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Photo Credit: "Sunset" by Sunny_mjx from Flickr