If you’re naturally a night owl but work a conventional white-collar schedule, you spend a good chunk of your life battling your biological clock.
That was me, mostly. I’m not a true stay-up-until-3-am type, but 9 am meetings were definitely not optimal for me either. One of the many things I looked forward to in retirement was being able to (mostly) wake up and start my days whenever I want. What a luxury after so many years of alarm clocks!
Some days now I stay in bed until after 10, although there are also (fewer) days I head to the gym at 8:30. The best thing: I’m usually in control of the choice. And since I deeply craved NOT having to start my days on someone else’s too-early-for-me schedule, there have been a lot of later starts to my days.
But does that still make sense now that the newness of retirement is wearing off?
I’m not sure.
Eleven months (!) into retirement, I think I’m finally getting “I can stay in bed as late as I want!” out of my system. 😅
In fact, much to my surprise, I feel ready to try starting more of my mornings a little earlier.
A key advantage to waking up earlier: more daylight! I’m one of those people who craves light, especially natural sunlight. When I sleep later, I miss out on hours of light and spend more time in darkness. That works well for some real night owls. It doesn’t for me.
So now I plan to experiment with setting some morning alarms again, even if I’ve got nothing specific on my AM schedule.
If I’m able to craft a new self image that doesn’t involve a professional title, surely I can test drive what shifting my preferred schedule might look like!
That may not sound like a big deal, I know. But it would be a significant change for me. My self image has always included “likes to sleep late and wake up late.” I’ve never seen myself as an early riser by choice. Or, in this case, more like early-ish. I won’t be up with my husband at or before dawn! But I might be at 8 or 8:30.
There’s a big difference between setting the alarm for a work meeting, and setting it so I can enjoy more morning daylight. Now my earlier mornings might start with a cup of tea on the patio, or going for a morning run before it gets too hot, or some morning classes, or meeting a friend before lunch.
Maybe a great morning doesn’t always mean I can sleep as late as I want.
I see this as another sign that my retirement is a lot more than just “I stopped working” – which is how I imagined it would be when I was younger. It’s not just “stopping”. It’s also very much starting. It’s a gift of time and emotional space – one that allows me to look at my life with a fresh eye and spirit of “just because that’s how I’ve always been doesn’t mean that’s who I want to be now.”
But I still plan to sleep late most weekends.
You can follow My Next Chapter by email newsletter or RSS feed. Blog content © Sharon Machlis.