Start now.
Do it.
The only way to get used to a new routine is through repetition.
Practice.
Practice, practice, practice!
This weekend—I’d suggest Friday but you can start as late as Sunday—go to bed one hour earlier than your set time and keep it up for the rest of the week. Get a jump on falling back.
Next week at 2 a.m. on Nov. 6 daylight saving comes to an end. Typically the turning of the clock is accompanied by happy sighs when parents realize they can sleep an hour longer, and grumbles of discontent when heliophiles find it gets darker sooner.
The week following the time change is filled with stories of missed appointments, botched start times and fuzzy headedness as Southern Californians transition from hot summer to cool summer mode.
But if your bedtime routine begins an hour earlier this week not only will you feel more rested going into the transition you’ll most likely also be more alert than your neighbors and coworkers who have been trying to squeeze all of their errands and activities into their dwindling day.
And maybe even the greatest bonus for those who are forced to pay attention—the less time you spend awake, the less time you spend tolerating campaign ads and discussion as we move into the final weeks of the 2022 election cycle.
•••
Who needs recalcitrant spirits to scare you at Halloween when you have unimaginative leadership?
The pandemic is still with us. Despite the many advances in treatment and prevention the scourge of COVID-19 lingers, albeit weakened. But as 300 to 500 people a day across the country are still dying thanks to the virus (and thousands more are still becoming infected), our attention and concern has turned elsewhere. We’ve gone back to normal, a normal which consisted of lip service to meaningful healthcare reform so that everyone has insurance. A change that would insure everyone—from the unemployed to the homeless to the struggling college student.
Instead we listen to and settle for candidates who promise but don’t deliver or, worse yet, those who stand in the way of change that benefits everyone. Sadly, that sort of fright lasts throughout the year.
