I got promoted… by my self. I was able to spend a full working week going to bed early, waking up at 6 and having a run before my usual day started. Phew.

Despite what friends and colleagues told me (a week is too short as a timeframe; you’re not really changing your behavior; why don’t you continue; etc.) my only aim was to prove my self I was able to do it. And I succeeded.

I also learned some good lessons that might be valuable in the future:

1. if you want to wake up early, go to bed early;
2. have a clear agenda; you have to plan in advance how to organize your evening, if you want to go to bed early;
3. make your effort public; your ego will be a fierce allied in supporting your effort (and to me, having my President aware of this challenge was quite helpful ;
4. choose your rhythm; always go to bed at the same hour, always wake up at the same hour. This will help your body in assess the change.
5. communicate your results; daily. Blogging and tweeting every night and morning really helped me in keeping the pace (see also point 3)
6. resist. eh.