Energy and staying in the The Zone

(Click on the title of the post to see the entire post.)

One of the few top rules to remember in life is to stay and/or return to The Zone as quickly as possible to avoid wasted energy and to avoid damage - and to remain in a high functioning state in order really, really be able to lead a great life.

Some of the strategies to ensure staying in The Zone are anticipatory.  They are "precausative" in the chain of causes.

One of the best that prevents, or substantially reduces, free fall or spiraling downward later in the day is to use the simple strategy, as a #1 priority, of getting to sleep at the exact same time every night and getting up at the exact same time.

When I say "exact" I mean EXACT, not a "well, within a half hour is good enough".  Setting the body clock so that it works requires the primitive body practices that work for the natural functioning of the body.  (When I say "for the body", I am including the mind, as the body is "repairing" neuronal connections and making sense, in a crude manner, of what occurred during the day - and that improves sanity and lowers emotional reactivity, such as with anxiety and fears.)  

You should never experience fatigue during the day.  Don't tolerate it.  Nap if you have to, but use a full night's sleep as your weapon to head off low energy during the day.

A full night's sleep is the one where you feel fully rested and fully alert when you awaken.  It is usually about 8 hours.  Test to see what works for you and then set the exact time to get up after adding those hours to your bedtime.  (Although lots of have written on this, the current popular book about it is Thrive, by Arianna Huffington, who collapsed from overachieving and undersleeping.)

There's probably nothing here you haven't read, but the point of this whole piece is for you to start doing this process religiously right now - and then do it for at least 30 days - and then continue it forever after.  And do it at the EXACT times every day.   Please let me know what a difference this makes in your life.
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So, to implement this, you should set an alarm that goes off probably about 40 minutes before the established bed time, so that you have enough time to assure that you can be in bed and ready.  If you're ready early, then just use a filler, like a few minutes of light reading or writing a little in your journal (always, at some point in the day, "reflect" on your day and your life will change massively for the better).

I use "Reminders", which do not clutter up my calendar but do make a sound for me to respond to (on both my iPad and iPhone).

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I am "bemused" when I see people trying to be maximally efficient or to be massively achieving,  but failing to do the #1 base requirement for being set up to be productive, alive, alert, and well functioning in any aspect of life.