Last night, I was relaxing in the backyard and dozed off for a few minutes. I had a strange dream: I was sitting cross-legged on the ground, watching an alarm clock go off. When I woke up, my mind began spinning, searching for meaning behind the dream. I came up with many ideas—most of them revolving around my ongoing struggle with scheduling, calendaring, and the constant pressure to get things done on time.

However, after some deeper reflection, I had a brainstorm. The idea stuck with me, and I worked on it for the rest of the evening. This morning, I put it into practice. I’ll explain it here—try it at your own risk.

I have a list of things I’d love to get done every day, but I rarely have time for all of them. On a perfect day, everything slips neatly into place. I feel efficient, and it seems like God—or the Universe—is magnifying my efforts. On those days, I get it all done. But most days, I fall short. I get bogged down and distracted. I end up doing just the seven core habits I maintain, while everything else falls by the wayside.

So instead—what if I got everything I wanted done in just one hour?

Immediately upon waking, I would throw on some clothes, head downstairs, and be ready for the clock to strike 5:00 a.m. Then I could engage in what I’m now calling the “Hour of Power.”

To make this happen, I created a list of the twelve top things I want to do each day:

  1. Meditation
  2. Scripture Study
  3. Prayer
  4. Stretching
  5. Run
  6. Core Exercises
  7. Weight Exercises
  8. Chess Practice
  9. Memory Palace Work
  10. Writing Brainstorm
  11. Daily Planning Session
  12. Reach Out to Someone I Do Not Know

I organized them in a logical sequence. I put the calm, stationary items first. Then came the physical exercises, followed by the tasks involving my phone or computer. This way, I could reduce transition time to almost nothing.

Next, I set up thirteen alarms on my phone. The first was at 4:50 a.m. I timed myself: if I get out of bed right away and my clothes are already laid out, I can be downstairs by the treadmill in less than ten minutes. I scheduled the remaining twelve alarms in five-minute increments, using a mild, single-beep tone.

During my preparation, I ensured I had everything I needed to do each task without having to search or set anything up. I created a folder on my phone with six apps I would use: a link to my Chess.com account, a meditation app, an automatic number generator for memory work, and so on.

With everything in place, I went to bed early—excited to see if I could actually pull this off.

This morning, I woke up three minutes before my alarm. I got up, got dressed, and was downstairs waiting two minutes before the first alarm beeped: “Meditation.” I did that for five minutes, then moved on as the next alarm sounded. One by one, I completed each task.

What surprised me was how effective the five-minute windows felt. I was able to dedicate focused effort and genuinely accomplish something in each segment. I ran at a fast pace. I spent my stretch time focusing on a tight hamstring. I read a meaningful scripture that sparked deep thought. During my writing brainstorm, I came up with three or four blog ideas. I even reached out to someone I’ve never met, and now have a meeting scheduled with them this week.

All in all, it was a highly productive hour.

Afterward, I grabbed a drink and promptly fell asleep on the couch for forty minutes. Oh well. At least I accomplished something today. No matter how poorly the rest of the day goes, I can rest assured knowing I got the twelve most important personal things done. Well—maybe not the most important. I have other obligations, of course. But at least those twelve boxes are checked.

I’m going to try again tomorrow and see if I can find some efficiencies in the process. If I keep this up, I’ll return and report my findings.

Incremental power may finally be mine. Muhahahaha.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments