There are times I am so zonked out that I will go to bed at 9 p.m. and find myself waking up at 11 a.m. the next day, trying to somehow make up for lost sleep, time and productivity.
It never works.
Recently, I asked xoJaners for their advice as to what kind of a new mattress I should buy so that when I am going to bed, even if it's only for 3 or 4 hours because of an overbooked schedule the next day, every single minute will actually be restorative and restful.
Smart, right?
And boy did you all have great suggestions.
I also posed the question to friends and family and various bedding stores I wandered into, and after much research online, I came to one conclusion: Beautyrest Black was the way to go.
I'd like to show what my life is like post-Beautyrest Black purchase now that my sleeping life is so much improved.
6:49 a.m. My alarm rings. I've had an awesome dream (something about flying around New York, which always means I'm happy -- flying = good night's rest). I'd gone to bed at 1:11 a.m. the night before, so I only got about five hours of sleep (about three hours less than I like). During the night however, I fell asleep instantly because of the firm, sumptuous bedding and even one hour of sleep felt like almost twice that. Thank you, new mattress, thank you.
7:30 a.m. I am checking Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and all the usual suspect blogs to see what stories I should follow and what writers I should reach out to for potential xoJane stories.
I eat a toasted bagel and a banana. My dog Sam is getting antsy, but he has jumped on my bed and falls asleep by my side while he waits to be taken out. Even he is having better sleep now. Less barking dreams and funny twitching than before. (Although I kind of miss it. Barking dreams are hilarious.)8:15 a.m. I take Sam out for a walk around the neighborhood, and I listen to an audiobook. I'm listening to something about the founding of Twitter, and even though it's about as treacherous and back-stabby as business books get, I kind of love it. Ever since reading "The Accidental Billionaires," I can't get enough of these Silicon Valley histories.
9:12 a.m. I'm working from home today, but I still drop my dog off at D is for Doggy daycare because he'd much prefer to play with a bunch of other dogs than hang around my apartment watching me work. While there, I get to catch up on all of the latest dog gossip. Which Frenchie is taking attitude, and whether or not the new Great Dane is dealing better with his separation anxiety.
9:33 a.m. I'm working on this post!
11:42 a.m. Although I've been distracted by several phone calls along the way, I've filed this story, and now I can check in on how my writers are doing on their pieces.
12:59 p.m. Since I was able to get up and have an early fresh start to the day, I decide that before lunch, I'm going to do one of my favorite meditations (on my new mattress!) so that I can clear my head. I decide to go with this one Kelly Howell meditation that has you imagine you are going to some healing castle and fixing all your problems. Kind of silly, but it does the job.
2 p.m. I grab a burger from Muscle Maker Grill and watch a rerun of "Midnight" on Hulu. This leads me down a wormhole of searching creepy Paddington memes. No regrets. Every meme was worth it.
2:35 p.m. I'm editing a few pieces and building them in our content management system. I do a pre-interview for a TV show I'm taping. My mom calls. She wants to come and visit. I tell her that she can sleep on my new mattress! She is psyched.
5:45 p.m. A guy I've been hanging out with wants to meet up for a coffee. I love coffee dates. If they suck, you can bail without seeming rude. If they're fun, you can extend it into drinks and dinner. We plan on meeting around the corner at The Grey Dog.
6:35 p.m. Coffee does indeed turn into dinner which means the date went well. Hooray!
8:42 p.m. I head back over to D is for Doggy and Sam appears to have had as good a day as I did. He runs back and forth several times with a new toy someone gave him and then springs to the gate when he sees me. Even though he's done this about 500 times now since I adopted him, it still hasn't gotten the least bit old.
9:15 p.m. An old college friend is in town so she comes by to meet up with me and Sam. I sit at my desk and tell her to hop up on the bed so she can see why I'm happier than then last time she visited me. She asks me if she can keep it. I tell her no.
10:30 p.m. I'm not normally an early-to-bed person but since I've been able to wake up earlier than I used to, I turn in to read the newest copy of The New Yorker about the insanity of the age of constant innovation we live in.
11:15 p.m. I give Sam the go-ahead he can come up on my bed, and he is incredibly psyched to sleep at my feet with his little doggie blanket. I grab my lavender eye pillow, close my eyes, and before you know it, I find myself flying in my dreams once again.