You know what I’m talking about, right?
That “do I have to get up this morning” groan that rips from your throat without you even having to think about it, when you’ve pushed your bedtime just a liiiiitle bit too far (okay, a lot too far) the night before?
Have you ever stopped to think how much this sleep hangover and fuzzy brain setting is affecting your productivity the morning after?
I call it the Productivity Hangover.
It’s when you have a perfectly good plan for the day, but you choose to stay up too late finishing that library book or watching just one more show.
When you collapse in bed, exhausted and gritty eyed, and already dreading the beep of your alarm.
When you moan and groan yourself out of bed, taking every ounce of willpower to actually get yourself up and moving, instead of popping up energized that next morning.
And ultimately, when you stare down your to-do list with glassy, bloodshot eyes, unable to process why these things were so important to you yesterday or how in the world you’re going to muster up the energy to do them.
Can you really afford to be a no-show on tomorrow’s to-do list?
At this point, you don’t even care. You just want to go back to bed.
That’s the Productivity Hangover, my friends. And it’s what you’re doing to yourself each and every time you stay up too late.
You’re not just choosing a poor night’s sleep; you’re actively deciding to have a terrible morning (as far as your to-do list goes) the next day.
Is that what you really want? To shoot an entire morning’s (or day’s!) worth of productivity, just because it sounded nice to finish the last 3 chapters?
Next time you’re making that “should I go to bed or should I not” decision, I want you to remind yourself that you’re affecting your whole tomorrow if you chose to stay up.
And ask yourself if you can really afford to be a no-show on your (carefully chosen) to-do list.
If it’s vacation, and you can, great! You have permission.
But if it’s an ordinary work day, or you’ve got stuff that needs to get done, do yourself a favor and call it enough for now (me time, that is).
You’ll have plenty more me time tomorrow *after* you’ve crossed off those to-do’s with plenty of energy from the good night’s rest you’re going to give yourself tonight.
Is there any place in your life where *you’ve* been allowing yourself to suffer these Productivity Hangovers?
Start a new habit, and just say no to the dreaded morning after doldrums.
You’ve got this.
