I’ve always considered myself a morning person, but when my 9 AM internship forced me to wake up at 6:45 even in the summer, I dreaded the monotony of the “Early Riser” tune playing from my phone. Pulling myself out of bed was a battle as I rolled over to my side and the sun glared in my eyes.
While interning at a consulting firm throughout the summer, my perspective of those early hours quickly shifted. As I met new employees within the company, I always asked them, “What is your work-life balance?” My limited work experience through high school led me to wonder about the large difference in time management between the corporate world and my high school schedule.
I received a range of answers to this question. Some shook it off, explaining how they’ve come to terms with understanding that “the week is for work, however many hours it may be.” Once the week is over, many said, “then it’s finally time for themselves.” Others explained that their hours working varied per week, sometimes beginning earlier in the morning than others.
These responses made me reflect on my own experience. My internship as a high school student had structured hours from 9-5, but while I happily stuck with a morning routine during the school year, my summer schedule varied.
Determined to find my own “work-life balance,” I began reshaping how I viewed the early morning hours before work. Rather than spending my time from 6:45 AM to when I needed to leave focused on my work for the rest of the day, I spent time in the present. I added in journaling sessions and runs, cultivating pockets of time only for myself rather than thinking about my job or any other preoccupying thoughts. This morning hour became a highlight of my day, allowing me to start my day on a high note before my job began.
My second discovery about the morning hours arrived slightly later in the summer.
As I took the B train to work every morning, I quickly transitioned from the solitary quiet of my home to the chaos of people traveling to their offices for work. The people on my 8:28 AM train shifted every day as I observed young kids going to day camp, 20-year-olds traveling to their first corporate internship and other New Yorkers going to their jobs all around the city. (The temperature of the cars also varied — if I was lucky I’d get an air-conditioned car, but many days I entered the station to the disappointment of a humid and sweaty train ride).
My daily thirty-minute journey made me wonder about the morning routines of the people in my train car. Did they get up early to walk their dog? What did they have for breakfast? Do they use the “Early Riser” alarm sound as well, or are they awakened by cars outside their window? Over time, while I realized that I may not be able to find out the logistics of what led these people to arrive on this train, there was one part of the routine that I did understand – my commute itself. Similarly to my routine at home earlier in the morning, this train ride also represented another moment of calm before the work day. As I exited the 42nd Street train station, I discovered a new community that I now became a part of – my 8:28 AM B train commuters.
As my summer internship came to a close, I stopped dreading my 6:45 alarm. Yes, the alarm still forced me suddenly awake amid well-needed rest. But the chimes also symbolized something else – the beginning of a morning routine where I could save time for myself, and finally understand my own version of work-life balance. So thank you, “Early Riser” alarm, for teaching me to appreciate the early mornings and reminding me that, while I don’t know what the day will bring, I can always count on my time from 6-9 AM.
