The book by Robin Sharma was an inspirational book about how to kick start your day with the methods of the 5 am club. Sharma’s 20/20/20 concept helps to achieve your full potential. By doing this 20/20/20 method you belong to the 5 % of people who get up at 5 am and take an hour to themself. This mindset begins with 20 min of sweating, like running. Then comes 20 min of reflection and lastly 20 of gathering wisdom by reading. With this formula, you can achieve greatness.

This book was interesting and eye-opening for me since I feel like I am more of a night owl. I have always loved to sleep in and burn the late-night hours working on school essays or widening my knowledge with documentaries and podcasts. Ironically I am writing this at 11 pm as I am waiting for the bread to rise. I feel more energetic and inspired in the late hours of the day. For me waking up before 9 am seems difficult and sometimes nearly impossible. For my life, to this point in the day, I feel like I am walking in a haze during the day and in the evening I feel more productive and have the motivation to get my to-do list done. Listening to the e-book I felt intrigued about the concept and got inspired to try the theory out. I tried it for a week and these are the results.

Day 1 I was tired since my body was not used to waking up at 5 am. I got up and did some pilates as well as yoga. I thought starting with something a bit gentle would be better for embracing the change. After that, I made a cup of tea and sat down to write down on paper how I felt and what I wanted to achieve that day. And as the last part of the 20/20/20, I listened to a motivational podcast and took time to just be and focus on centering my energy on the day ahead.

First two days my routine was the same. I felt exhausted since the change was so different from my normal life. I felt a bit stressed since my daily routine changed and my basic needs like eating properly and having time for my friends and family were restricted. On Sunday we have a family zoom where all my aunts and uncles and cousins attend to talk and catch up and due to me being so exhausted I could not join. The start was not easy and school as well as other personal things impacted my stress levels.

Day 3
On day three I tried to change a bit the routine to fit my lifestyle. For the first 20 minutes, I went for a little walk outside listening to a book. After that, I made breakfast and wrote down some thoughts and a to-do list for the day. After I had gotten my breakfast ready I listened to a book again and got ready for the day and head out. I felt a bit more motivated during the day. And I made time to make myself my favorite food for lunch and took time to see my mother for coffee. At the end of the day, I felt still tired but I thought that this day was a success and was thinking that could I be a morning person instead of an evening person.

Day 4
I continued my same routine as on day three. In the morning I took to work on myself and spent time with my cat and took him for a walk before class. After 4 pm I went to see a friend and study at the library. And the evening I just had time to relax and get ready for day 5

Day 5
On day five I felt again exhausted and almost did not do the 20/20/20 but I forced myself out of bed and got myself out for a little walk and after that did my routine and started my day. Had work at home day and focused on trying to finish by 2 pm to start my weekend. Friday felt a bit better but I think it as since it was Friday and felt a little like I had some things done. Since it was a tough weekend I decided to order food and watch a movie in the evening before heading to sleep.

On the weekend I stuck to my schedule still and felt a bit more relaxed since I did not need to do so many things and had time to clean and take some time to spend it with my cat and to focus to ground myself to my values and made stuff I liked to do.
After all, I felt like the book widened my view of a different routine and gave my perspective on the lifestyle I live now. For so long I have been thought of myself and beat myself up for not achieving the same as my peers. I guess with this book I started to think about how I want to build my days in the future and found that I am not part of the 5 am club. Still, I found that I enjoyed the moment to myself before starting the day. Even if it is later than 5 am. I feel like I will embrace the 20/20/20 method in my life but interrogate it in my already existing routing. Or I will break it up to have a 20-minute break to myself three times a day.

The book itself did not change my life but it gave me a new perspective about how I live now and what I want to achieve in the future. I know I want to find my strengths in my team as well as in my personal life. I feel this book opened a new door to self-care vision I did not think about before. I want to set some targets that will try to achieve this year.

1. Find a project I feel is my baby.

2. Learn three new skills (a new type of food, marketing, and people skills).

3. Focus on my overall health.

4. Not work all evening and focus more time doing something that is not school nor work-related.