Wednesday, June 30, 2010

On mornings and their aftermath

When I was a kid, I used to have a T-shirt that said ”I don’t do mornings”. I think I still should have one of those. It’s not that I can’t get up early – I can, if I have a good reason – and it’s not that I don’t function well in the morning – if I do manage to get up early, I function better in the morning. I’m pretty much a morning person, apart from one little detail: I can’t be trusted in the morning.


I’m not saying “don’t share state secrets with me in the morning” – I can keep a secret even before 10 am (though frankly, if you’re sharing state secrets with me, it’s you who have a trust problem…). But what I am saying is that I am less rational in the morning.

Last night I told myself that I needed to get up early today. I needed to have a quick shower and breakfast, and I needed to leave the house and go to the university where there is a perfectly nice working space waiting for me.

This morning, however, I told the alarm clock to go hide where the sun never shines. Actually, I got out of bed to tell it this. I was up, I was awake, and I was lucid (or so I thought). But instead of staying up and awake, I went back to bed, back to sleep. When I eventually did get up, I had a looong breakfast, a looooong shower, and I didn’t leave the house at all. “After all,” morning-me said, “I have a perfectly nice working space right here. Working from home will save me lots of time.”

Only it didn’t. It never does.

I turned on the computer (that part is easy). I located my notes, and I intended to open the documents I need to write what is commonly known as “that ruddy chapter five”. Only before I got a chance to do that I decided I should check my email. Facebook. My blog. The Burrow. Before I knew it I had spent two hours replying to emails, writing comments on my blog, watching “Can I Haz Cheezburger Kittehs”, reading and commenting on other people’s blogs, and so on. And so forth.

Once that was done, I realized it was time to eat lunch. Lunch it is. I couldn’t work while eating, of course, so I read some more blogs. Watched more kittehs (I hate that word, by the way. It is beyond me why the funny captions [they are very funny!] supposedly become funnier because they are misspelled. Why?). Checked my email again.

After lunch I had to do the dishes. And once I was at it I might as well tidy a little as well.

I don’t know how time learned to fly, but I can assure you its wings are working perfectly around here. All this because the irrational morning-me decided that today would be different (it wasn’t). Morning-me thinks emails should have a higher priority than my education (it shouldn’t!). Morning-me even believes that night-me will be rational enough to set tomorrow-morning-me right (I won’t).

16 comments:

Nicole said...

routines.. sounds like you need a new one *grin*

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

I don't mind mornings it's the afternoons I'm not keen on.

Yvonne,

Anne Gallagher said...

Oh the best laid plans....

M.J. Nicholls said...

I too suffer from this syndrome. I usually combine my important work with the distractions, meaning at least a trickle gets done. Usually there are days of spurt and speed.

Routines are made to be broken.

Melody said...

Aaack, I've been here! :/ Had to set a time limit for myself and my facebook/email/blog/blog/blog life. :)

Anonymous said...

I get distracted like that too. Maybe that's why I should start up a routine and work around a schedule, but... I won't do it. :}

I'm no morning person either. I regularly clock in at 4AM and wake up around noon.

Hart Johnson said...

*giggles* Oh dear... a very good reason to leave home... not that the internet can't be accessed at University, but probably there would have been less kitteh watching (I hate all the misspelling too--drives me nuts--wonky grammar I can live with--that is voice. Misspelling is just sloppy.)

Unknown said...

I can totally empathize but in reverse. Afternoons are my downfall, mornings are just fine. I think Facebook is such a procrastination trap. Don't get me wrong, I love it and am always on it. That's the problem.

Jemi Fraser said...

Sounds like an interesting morning. I need one or two of those :)

Deb and Barbara said...

Ha! This is so me! It's amazing how you can slip into the blogosphere and circle for hours, doing nothing but gazing glassy-eyed...

And I want that t-shirt.

Barbara

Cruella Collett said...

(I didn't...)


Nicole - do I ever! Have one for sale? ;)

Yvonne - I don't know why I can't seem to imbrace my inner morning person, but there you go...

PW - so true! I don't know if my plans are poorly laid or if they go awry because I suck at following them, though...

Mark - ooo, trickles. I would love trickles. Can you teach me?

Melody - that is probably a good idea. I will try to make morning-me do that tomorrow...

Amanda - ohoo, you're a night owl, then! I too boycot my own attempts at creating routines. My own worst enemy...

Tami - so true. But then morning-me tells me that walking to the university would be precious time lost. Time I could spend on - blogging! Yay! (Nay!)

Chary - I wonder what I did with all my spare time before I met Facebook. Bah!

Jemi - you can have some of mine! Really!

Barbara - so true! I spent a great deal of time at your blog today, for instance ;) The t-shirt can be acquired at a gas station on the border between Norway and Sweden circa 1994. Now all you need is a time machine...




TOMORROW, though, I SWEAR morning-me will be good...

Pat Tillett said...

I don't mind mornings. I just hate waking up...

Unknown said...

I'm usually a morning person but I've been struggling lately. I've been under so much stress, I'm worried I'm at the breaking point.

CD

Cruella Collett said...

Pat - there is that. Perhaps the trick is never going to bed? In which case we shouldn't have to wake up in the morning...

Clarissa - sounds like you could use a vacation! Please take care and make sure that you get enough sleep (I think this is one of the keys to my unsuccess).

tammy said...

Love this. Happens way too many times to me too!

Cruella Collett said...

Tammy - it shouldn't make me feel better that others share this terrible syndrome (but it does..) ;)

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