The 10 AM Version of Me

I have been trying something different lately. Instead of exercising around noon like I usually do , I started doing it around 8:00 in the morning, followed by a shower. And honestly, it has made me feel more productive than I have in days.

My primary work is studying , so I always used to feel like my day had not really started until I sat down with my books, but when I exercise, shower and get ready and finally sit down by around 10, there’s this strange feeling that I have already accomplished something. It feels like I have already won the first part of my day.

Getting myself to actually exercise is probably the hardest part. There are mornings when staying in bed feels infinitely easier. And then there’s the soreness afterwards, when your entire body reminds you that you exercised. But once I am on the treadmill, sweating, listening to my favourite songs, I genuinely start enjoying it.

Lately, Ariana and Taylor have basically become my unofficial workout partners. Something about listening to your favourite songs while exercising makes the whole thing feel less like a task and more like your own little moment and suddenly I am not thinking about how tired I am or how much longer I have to go.

It isn’t even really about losing weight, becoming fitter or ticking exercise off my todo list , it’s about starting my day by doing something that requires effort. Something that I could easily postpone but choose not to.

I am beginning to realise that sometimes productivity is also about momentum.

When I used to exercise at noon, I would sometimes spend the morning thinking, thinking- I’ll do it later. And “later” somehow made the entire morning feel unfinished. Now when I finish it early, I feel lighter mentally. I can sit down to study without having that small thought at the back of my mind that I still have to exercise.

I also feel sometimes productivity isn’t always about how many hours you study or how much work you finish . Sometimes , just getting up , moving your body and doing something for yourself early in the morning can completely change the way you approach the rest of the day.

And honestly, feeling productive by 10AM is a pretty nice feeling , that I want to keep feeling.