Author: Adam Stewart

Something a little different this week. I wanted to write an update post on last week’s post – Wake Up!

Why?

Well, because a lot of things came out of it – ideas, suggestions and results.

First – Some honesty

In the post last week, I spoke about the importance of having a reason to wake up. If you have a time bound activity, your mind will know you need to be up.

I followed my own advice for the following weekend. The next morning (Saturday) I had agreed to meet my brother at 9am for a game a squash.

You can guess what happened…. I woke up at 7:30am with my alarm, and…… fell back to sleep, not waking until spot on 9am!

So yes I did write about the importance of building a habit to wake up on time and then over sleep the very next day…. But for the record, I still got to the sports centre with enough time for a good game!

Ideas

The next morning (yes, the late morning) I had a message waiting for me on Facebook, sent from a friend of mine whilst they were on a night out, not a drunk text surprisingly, actually a message with their advice on how to wake up (why they were reading my blog on a night out, I’m still not sure…)

What did they have to say? – Build a routine.

Every morning, do the same thing instantly – drink some water, get out and walk to the bathroom, even sing a song. Do anything you want, but do it every day as soon as you wake up. The act of doing something straight away will get you brain in gear.

Suggestions

I’ve tried countless alarm clock apps, but I’ve found anything I like. The alarm noises are horrible, the app doesn’t work and so the alarm doesn’t even go off, or you can’t personalise it enough…

However one app I hadn’t yet tried was suggested to me – Sleep Cycle.

As I entered the app store to search for it, that very app came up as a suggestion on my featured page (a sign? Maybe…)

The app works by using the microphone in your phone or tablet to listen to you sleep and it uses that noise to determine how well you are sleeping. When you set an alarm, you set it in a 30 minute period. At some stage within those 30 minutes, when you are in a light phase of sleep, the alarm will go off… AND… the noise is nice! Soothing, easy music. Not those harsh, loads screeches.

As well as acting as an alarm, you can look back through your nights to see how well you slept, whether this is of much use, I’m not yet sure, but I am certainly interested and check it every morning!

Results

I’ve found it really difficult to build a habit. To do the same thing instantly each morning. However, I can see how it would work. I think this is something I will stick at and attempt over and over, but if it’s for me, I’m not sure yet.

However, I absolutely love this new app!

It works perfectly!! I have used it for four nights so far. Number of times I’ve overslept – 0. Number of times I’ve woken up feeling fresh – 4! I’ve had no issues, I’ve enjoyed seeing how I slept and I’ve felt good each day.

So if you’re a heavy sleeper, Sleep Cycle might be your solution!

I love sleep. I also enjoy waking up, as it’s the start of a new day. However, I struggle to wake up.

I set an alarm, it wakes me up. A few weeks later, I find myself sleeping through the alarm noise. Sometimes, I’m not deciding to lie in, I literally don’t wake up until after my alarm (no matter how many I set). If I change the alarm noise, the cycle repeats.

For me, this is a challenge I want to overcome and overcome fast! I’ve put in place a number of strategies to try and wake up, however I also want to add some accountability. By writing this post, I’m committing to myself to wake up on time.

So what am I aiming for? At the moment my alarm is set for 7am each morning, with follow up alarms at 7:15 and 7:30. A number of times these past few weeks I’ve ended up waking up at 8:30am. So, yes, not late and early enough for me to be wherever I might need to be for the day, but it isn’t building a habit.

Extreme Alarm Clock

I get used to alarm noises, quickly! I can easily sleep through them. So how can I overcome it?

Change the senses.

Now, I’m not woken by noise, but by feel. An alarm clock that shakes my bed! This worked like a charm… until… I formed the muscle memory to turn it off and I then found myself turning the alarm off in a half-sleep state, away enough to move, not awake enough to make the decision to fully wake up – disaster.

Now, I’ve move the alarm base and so I’m not able to turn it off whilst half asleep – for now anyway!

A Reason

I want to wake up early so that I can get my day started, get more work done and be more productive. I have things to wake up for, however these aren’t time bound activities and I think that is where I have gone wrong. If I wake up 30 minutes later, I just start working 30 minutes later, I haven’t missed anything, I have slept through an activity, so in reality it didn’t make much difference.

Now I want to add a reason. Whether that be to wake up and go the gym early or go and meet someone early. I now set a time bound reason. If I wake up 30 minutes late, I might have missed the chance to go to the gym. The possibility of missing something will be a strong enough factor to get me awake.

So why post about this? Well, now I have made it known what I am trying to do, even if only to myself through the act of typing this. That accountability is the third factor that I hope will get me up in the morning!

P.S. If you have any techniques that get you awake in the morning, let me know 🙂

Build up debt for a degree that doesn’t even guarantee you a job? Is University worth it? Are you better off going straight into work or an apprenticeship?

In my opinion, it’s hard to know if the degree alone is worth the money. However, University as a whole is worth every penny! Here are my three main reasons, aside from earning a degree, for why I believe University is the place to be.

1 – The People

When you start at University, you jump into a community of thousands of other people in a similar position as you. It’s no surprise people meet friends for life or even their future husband/wife.

For me, I’ve loved being able to meet like-minded people, who are working on similar things, with similar goals. This is one of the main reasons a number of business students still go to University, rather than start their own venture – they want the network.

Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of people who you meet and think ‘how did they get into University?’ and you won’t get on with everyone. However, it only takes a few new, good people to make it worthwhile.

2 – The Freedom

University is the place to try things! The risks of giving something a go and hating it or failing are low.

Want to try and start a business, give it a try. Want to learn a sport, turn up to practice. If you fail there are no (or very low) consequences, you don’t have a job you’re putting on the line, you don’t have a family you need to provide for, you don’t have a mortgage to pay.

You start as a student and if it all goes wrong, you carry on as a student. The freedom to try is unique and won’t last once ‘in the real world’.

3 – The Time

Despite what many students will tell you, the work load isn’t that big. Around exams or weeks full of deadlines it can become pretty intense, however most of the time you only go to a couple of lectures a day at most and maybe prepare some answers every now and then.

This leaves lots of free time for other things; sports, societies, socialising etc. It’s incredible how many different things you can have on the go at once. If you’re in a 9-5 job it will be really hard to hold up the same level of commitments!

 
Whilst I do enjoy my degree and I do learn lots from it, it isn’t the only reason for being at University, I’m here to take advantage of everything it has to offer!

Social Media ninja Gary Vaynerchuck says no…

Well of course he would. Social Media is the blood of his business and his personal brand. But I think he honestly believes it, and I agree with him.

Let’s first define Anti-Social – google brings up two definitions…

1. contrary to the laws and customs of society, in a way that causes annoyance and disapproval in others.
2. not sociable or wanting the company of others

It’s not hard to know that many people from older generations certainly follow the first definition when complaining about Social Media.

“Look at them on their phones. Whatever happened to talking to one another?”

Well, I hope the photo for this blog points out the slight hypocrisy of this….

That’s not to say I completely disagree with this opinion. If people are choosing to play games on their phone, rather than talk to other people, then they’re being anti-social by the second definition.

However, when it comes to Social Media, you aren’t acting alone. The whole purpose of Social Media is to interact with others. See what others are up to, let people know what you’ve done and talk with other people. Surely that’s the definition of being sociable?

In my opinion, the whole debate surrounding Social Media revolves around the first definition of anti-social… “customs of society”. Younger people who have grown up with Social Media don’t see it as much of an issue. The older generation who are becoming accustomed to it are more likely to despise its constant use. It can also be noted that those who use Social Media more, will be more likely to side with it due to them discovering more capabilities and opportunities of Social Media. I’ve met and become friends with a number of people through Social Media. These are people I now know in person, but the initial contact came from Social Media. To me, that’s being sociable. However, if your friends or followers are only a small group of people you see in person anyway, then you won’t necessarily see any added benefits.

So what’s the answer to this question? Should we use Social Media less? I think not. However, when we use it might need to change. If someone is sitting next to you wanting a conversation, don’t get your phone out. However, if you’re on a bus or train, you’re not expected to talk to a stranger, feel free to be on your phone talking to someone else.

Hard work is the key to success right? If you want to succeed, you need to maximise your time and work as hard as you can. Work, eat, sleep, repeat.

Not only is that ridiculously hard, it’s probably really unhealthy. The first reason people have as to why this approach to each day is unhealthy, is the reality that people in this situation probably start to sleep less. Yes, this isn’t always the best idea, but not everyone needs 8 hours of sleep, some can function off 5. When it comes to sleep, it’s not always about how much you sleep, it’s about what you do in the day. If you are active and have a reason to be awake with energy, you’ll probably find it. So why is working hard and being ‘active’ all day a bad thing? Personally I believe it is just as important to ‘re-charge’ during the day by finding your release.

Before I get to my main point, I will mention the benefits of exercise. It’s proven that if you want to increase your energy, exercise helps! It gets blood flowing and your muscles moving. I won’t go into the science behind it (I’d be guessing anyway), however if you want to increase your energy levels, give exercise a go.

I believe, however, that as well as a physical aspect to get you moving and give you more energy, it is really important to get a mental re-charge. This is where your release comes in. Is there a hobby you have or sport you play where you find you can ‘lose yourself’? You lose any concerns, you either relax or fill with positive energy. I find these activities allow me to rest the part of my brain that I use to work. I might be thinking really hard on the activity, but it is a different form of mental energy.

For me, badminton is a big release. Playing for even an hour helps re-energise my mind, even if physically it has drained me. Another release for me currently is learning to play the guitar. I won’t lie, I’m rubbish, but I think that’s part of why I love it. I really enjoy spending five or ten minutes attempting to play a song. It’s a different challenge to that of my work. I have a friend that has taken up Salsa dancing and improv comedy as a form of release. Entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuck, travelled to watch every NY Jets game this season, despite constantly telling people they need to maximise their time. Why did he do it, in his words, it was the one ‘stupid’ thing he has in his life where he doesn’t need to worry. This is his release.

If you don’t have a release, try a few things out. It might really help!

Passion is a word that has come up in a number of conversations I’ve had recently. Referred to by some of my friends as the ‘p-word’. It has surprised me how many people detest the word, how many people think it’s over used and how many people think it can actually be a barrier to success.

It’s often said that you should do something you love. If you don’t love what you do, keep looking. As summarised by Steve Jobs –

“You’ve got to find what you love. The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”

The conversations I’ve had, have centred on what exactly should you have passion for? And, at what point do you just need to go for something, even if it isn’t your biggest passion?

If you’d asked me a week ago what I thought on this. I probably would have produced some words similar to those from Jobs. If you ask me now, I’ll say the same, but I’ll add a bit more. Here’s what I’ll add:

“But remember, you have to keep looking! Not sitting around waiting”

You may know what you’re passionate about. You may not have a clue. You might think you know, but when you start exploring, you discover new passions.

You have to learn through doing and trying to discover what you enjoy. We aren’t born knowing what makes us happy. We learn that through experiences.

A lot of people will try and narrow or focus their search for work at a very young age to try and fit their passions. Yet, those passions could be different in 10, 20 or 30 years. You’re passions could lie in a field you don’t know exists. Meaning, trying different areas and getting a wide variety of experiences is important. It gives you the first-hand experience to make informed decisions.  

If you sit around and wait for your dream job to come around, you will always be waiting. You have to go and look – by doing and trying!

“Once you believe you know what you’re passionate about, think about the actual context where it applies”

This is a particularly important one.

Why create a startup in the education industry if you aren’t passionate about education? Why want to invent a service that makes washing up obsolete if you aren’t passionate about having clean plates?

Because the passion can lie in the process!

Your passion may be to create a game changing product. Or you might love living a hustler’s life. The journey may be your enjoyment, no matter the direction that journey follows. If your passion is for the path, then you need to take any road you can onto that path.

What does this mean? If you’re passionate about creating art. Maybe there’s little difference to you between oil painting and graphic design. If you’re passionate about animals, maybe you’d enjoy being a vet just as much as being a zoo keeper.

I have always been a strong believer that you should always do things you enjoy. I also really like the word passion. It’s a word I use and is something I look for in others. Passion can be one of the most powerful drivers and a huge key to success. However, I can completely see how it can be a hindrance. Don’t let the thought “I’m not passionate about X and so I shouldn’t partake in Y because it incorporates X” stop you. Y could be the path that most suits you!

If you want to read more around the debate of passion, check out this (better) blog – Do you have to love what you do?