CHAPTER 21: MASTER YOUR TIME, MASTER YOUR SLEEP

By DARIUS CREED

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One of your greatest allies to help you get more sleep is time mastery. If you can find a way to modify your schedule and expand your time, you will significantly improve your capacity to obtain more sleep, not to mention the fact that your efficiency and productivity in other areas of your life will all skyrocket. Speaking of time, let’s waste no more of it and get to the points of this discussion ASAP.

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Create a Regular Schedule to Reset Your Circadian Rhythms

In Parts I and II, we briefly mentioned circadian rhythms, which are built-in timers that influence our sleep. The central circadian clock that drives the sleep-wake cycle is found in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the brain’s hypothalamus where it receives stimuli in the form of light and darkness via the eye’s retina (Montaruli et al., 2021).

Fortunately, you can manipulate your circadian system and reestablish new circadian patterns (Montaruli et al., 2021). The best way to reset your circadian rhythms is to establish a routine. You must create a regular sleep schedule.

We humans are creatures of habit. If you can discipline yourself to consistently go to bed at a certain time each evening and wake up at a set time each morning, it will do your health—and quality of life—a lot of good.?

Try to avoid sleeping in on your days off. It would be much better to simply train yourself to go to bed earlier every night than to attempt to make up for lost sleep once or twice per week. Sure, there may be times, perhaps during an illness or family crisis, when the previous day or days have been so hard that sleeping in would be an intelligent decision. However, these instances should be the exception, not the rule.

Not sleeping in on your days off will be particularly difficult if you’re an E-type, because, statistically speaking, you are the most likely to be suffering from sleep deprivation than the other chronotypes (Montaruli et al., 2021). Just in case you didn’t read Chapter 2, an E-type, or evening-type, refers to someone who is a night owl.

If you are an E-type, you’re going to need to exert extra effort to NOT exert extra effort during the evening hours. You will really need to implement effective evening relaxation strategies and techniques to make this work. Check out the tips Dr. D wrote for this topic in Chapter 34. I also suggest you consider exploring your options with sleep supplements, which are discussed in Chapter 27.

Consistency in your sleep routine can train your body to recognize when it's time to rest, which can lead to improved sleep quality. If you’re regularly all over the place with your schedule, your circadian rhythms will always be off.

Unfortunately, that may be what your profession demands. If that’s how it is, you may want to reconsider what you do for a living and explore other options. I know. Career change is no easy task. But it’s either that or you’ll just continue to sacrifice your health.

You’ll have to decide what’s more important for you. If you know that your work schedule is wrecking your sleep and you have no intention of finding a healthier occupation in the foreseeable future, you will have to accept the consequences of that decision.

But if you’re fortunate enough to not be one of these shortsighted people who prioritize their profession over their health and your work schedule isn’t the problem, then perhaps you should examine how you manage your time. It could be the difference that makes the difference.

Consider Time Blocking

Consider time blocking. This time-management tool involves segmenting your waking day into small blocks of productivity-filled time, usually an hour in length, sometimes less (Griffin, 2021).

The average Joe or Jane might regard time blocking as some kind of unnecessary form of self-imposed restriction that only obsessed, masochistic, workaholics would enjoy. But believe me when I say that it can free you.

It's been said that for every minute you invest in planning, you earn 10. Time blocking has personally changed my life, allowing me to get more done in a day than some people do all week.

There’s a reason that some of the world’s most successful billionaires, such as Elon Musk and Bill Gates, rely on time blocking (Cain, 2018). When your level of productivity is that high, you can find the time to enjoy your sleep (well, if you’re willing to use time blocking to fit sleep into your super-productive schedule).

There are several software options that make time blocking a breeze. One of the most seamless versions is Google Calendar, which is free for those with a Google account (https://calendar.google.com). But there are plenty of other time-blocking apps out there. I recommend that you explore your options and find the right one for you.

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Treat Your Sleep Time Like a Business Appointment

Too many of us treat our sleep as the last thing on our minds. I'm certainly guilty of this. I want to accomplish so many projects, sleep has often been at the bottom of my priorities. Perhaps you know what I’m talking about.

But if we begin treating our sleeping blocks like they are business appointments, we may begin to take them more seriously. Think of your sleep as spinach was to Popeye. It’s an investment in your health, energy, productivity, and longevity.

Those who don’t master their time will always be its slave, and sleep may always elude them. Don’t let that be you. Value your sleep time. Respect it. Never take it for granted. Put it on your daily to-do list. Make it matter.

NOTE

What you are reading is a small portion of a book I put together with Dr. Catherine Divingian. Most chapters were written by me, while other chapters were written by her. Some of the material was written by both of us.

I originally wanted to post the entire ebook at once, but given its size, I came to realize that is not practical. There are four main parts to this book, each with its corresponding chapter/s. Every day, I will post a chapter until the entire book has been fully posted into LinkedIn. The first day will be the book Title, Medical Disclaimer, Table of Contents, Preface, How to Use This Book, and Introduction. The next day forward will be all the Part intros and the chapters, one per day.

Most of the chapters are fairly short. No long stories. We make it a point to get to the point. This is deliberate. We wanted to keep the chapters short so you can make the most of the information without burning up too much of your time doing so. For busy professionals this is a good thing.

Anyone who wants a copy of the ebook—in its entirety—is free to DM me. We will be happy to send you a digital copy as our gift to you.

Rest well.

Darius Creed (& Dr. D)??

SOURCES

Cain, A. (2018, February 6). Bill Gates and Elon Musk share a daily scheduling habit that helps them tackle their busy routines. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-elon-musk-scheduling-habit-2017-8

Griffen, T. (2021). Three ways to use time blocking for better time management. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2021/09/15/three-ways-to-use-time-blocking-for-better-time-management/?sh=1bc2a7d837f9

Montaruli, A., Castelli, L., Mulè, A., Scurati, R., Esposito, F., Galasso, L., & Roveda, E. (2021). Biological rhythm and chronotype: New perspectives in health. Biomolecules, 11(4), 487. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom11040487

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