As I write this post it is 4:45 a.m. I have been awake since 3:00 and probably have not used my time very well. Just wanted to share some lessons learned.

I got up at 3:30 and the past hour and fifteen minutes has been used surfing the internet from one idea to another. There is nothing wrong with this in and of itself. Much of it has been work related, but at the end of it all, I don’t have anything accomplished.

So next time I wake up at 3:00, I am going to try doing the following:

1) Develop a quick plan for the next few hours.

2) Set a time limit for surfing the internet. Nothing wrong with doing this, I just don’t need it to dominate all my time. Same can be said of your favorite social media outlet.

3) Set a goal for work and make a time limit. For example, “In the next two hours I am going to write 4 blog posts,” or “Finish Project A in 45 minutes and then spend 1 hour on Project B with a 15 minute break in between.”

4) Nap. You will probably need it.

Some of my most productive times are when I wake up in the middle of the night. Just not this time. Lesson learned. Hope this helps you as well.

What do you do when you wake up in the middle of the night? Please share in the comments section.

PS: For the following 2 hours I set a goal of 5 blog posts. Took me 2.5 hours, but I did it. 🙂