Cowes!
New year, new us. We have high hopes for ourselves, one being less screen time and more reading. We’ve heard great things about the book, The 4% Fix: How One Hour Can Change Your Life by Karma Brown, so we had to check it out for ourselves. The book is divided into four parts and we are 10 pages away from being finished part one (one part a week, one book a month, these are the goals we are setting for ourselves lol).
What We’ve Learned So Far
Karma Brown is a 5am riser…
Unattainable? We thought the same. However, as Brown begins to break down the “art” (our verbiage, not hers), of waking up at this hour, it seems less ungodly after each page turned. The most appealing part of waking up at 5 am is the lack of distraction felt first thing in the AM. At one point or another, we have all fallen into routines here at the office where we snooze until the final moment before being officially “late” to work. Feeling rushed and getting straight into work responsibilities for the day within the first hour of waking up is one of the worst ways to start your day. Yes, we’re speaking from experience. Establishing a morning routine is everything and more, apparently it gets better when you start at 5 am.
Selfishly Unselfish
Putting yourself first is often looked down upon and referred to as “selfish” but Brown shares a fresh perspective, quoting Audrey Hepburn at the top of one of the first few chapters; “As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” Cowes, sometimes you gotta do what’s best for you and in Brown’s case that’s at the peaceful hour of 5 am. She raises the point that if you’re so busy going through the motions and checking tasks off your list, you don’t want to look back when it’s “too late” thinking wtf did I actually do (for my self-growth) over these past x amount of years? Wow. That one hit us hard! *keeps reading*
No Responsibilities First Thing
We are so programmed to start checking off our to-do list within minutes after waking up. The purpose of the “5 am club” is to do something you never get the chance to do during your average (for a lack of a better term) day. For Brown, this was peaceful writing with no distractions or obligations which led her to becoming the author of five bestsellers. Damn! The best part, we wouldn’t even need to worry about turning on our DND feature at 5 am because majority of anyone trying to contact us would still be fast asleep.
Something’s Gotta Give
When waking up at 5 am, that doesn’t mean you’re still going to bed at midnight. The math is simple, if you’re waking up one or two hours earlier than normal, you’re going to bed one to two hours earlier in order to stay awake past 3 pm. Baby steps, Cowes! Our team wants to start our days earlier but we’re not sure if 5 am is IT.
We’ll keep you posted as we get through the remainder of the book, The 4% Fix: How One Hour Can Change Your Life.
Cowes, what are you reading this month? Let us know in the comment section below or tag @cocoandcowe on Instagram.
xx
The Cowe