Like most of the world, the pandemic brought me down into an unproductive slump early in 2020. My daily and weekly rhythm got messed up. Instead of my usual 6am wake-up time, I was going to bed at 2am and waking up at 10am. Everyday … EXCEPT … for ONE day a week when I was in the zone!
On Tuesday mornings I had a Mastermind which met at 6am. I realized that on Tuesdays, I was more productive than the rest of the week. So during one of our Mastermind sessions, I made a decision. I am going to wake up earlier. I am going to change my daily rhythm, sleep earlier so I could wake up earlier.
And I never looked back. It’s been 300+ days that I’ve been waking up early consistently. I am full of energy, and I am more focused on the more important items for the day.
There was only ONE THING that got me to Rise Up from my pandemic slump. Do you want to know what got me up?
ACCOUNTABILITY.
That’s it. I made myself accountable to people I cared for and who cared for me. The way I built accountability is: I made a promise to my friends that everyday I would publish a Facebook Live video where I would teach a principle I’ve learned through Life Coaching. That went on for 60 days from April to June 2020.
I also progressed into creating “Rise Up! The 5am Club”. I made myself accountable to a group of like-minded people who wanted to make a change from their pandemic slump. Everyday via zoom, I would guide our group through exercise, meditation and learning. We’d have guest speakers who’d share powerful messages. We’d have journalling questions, have breakout sessions where our members got to share and listen to each others’ reflections.
The club has grew from its simple beginnings into a thriving club. We now have additional activities like Bible reflections, Exercise/Yoga, a co-creators’ group where our members would allot 30-60 mins of focus work writing/reading/painting/editing or anything else they choose to do.
As a result, the club has produced multiple books / e-books, has led members to creating their own online programs, healed relationships and developed more meaningful friendships across the world. We’ve had members hailing from the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, USA, UK, UAE among others.
All these from a commitment aided by ACCOUNTABILITY.
What would you like to change in your life? Why not make yourself accountable to people who care about you?