New Year’s resolutions: Mine, in one word
Note: This is Part 2 of my series on New Year’s resolutions. Part 1 focused on some tips to make success more likely, rewarding, and fun. And in Part 3, I will discuss some ideas where we can help each other achieve our goals. And I will discuss the whole series in more detail in Episode 19 of The Dr. David Geier Show, which will be available Monday, January 2, 2012.
Well, the goal can be summed up in one word. The explanation requires a few more.
I’ve had a very productive and successful 2011. Even the eternal pessimist in me knows that I have made tremendous career progress this year. The success of my sports medicine column in The Post and Courier. Exponential growth of the blog. The launch and growth of The Dr. David Geier Show. AOSSM Public Relations Committee Chairman. Continued growth of MUSC Sports Medicine and my practice, despite declines in many fields of medicine due to the economy. And probably my biggest accomplishment hasn’t been realized but is a work in progress.
But all of that success comes at a cost. It’s called work. A lot of work. And for those of you who call me lucky (yes, it gets back to me), I would agree with you. But the harder I work, the luckier I seem to get. It’s funny how that works.
That work and the accomplishments that follow come at a cost too. And in 2012, I aim to at least start to remedy that situation. And therefore, my 2012 New Year’s resolution can be summed up in one word.
Sleep.
It seems crazy, right? Ask anyone (and I mean absolutely anyone) who knows me well, and they will tell you that I need to sleep more. I don’t track it regularly, but I bet that I average somewhere between 4 and 5 hours of sleep each night during the week and maybe 6 on weekend nights. But I have plenty of 2- or 3-hour nights of sleep. It’s been that way for a long time, but it’s time for a change.
This isn't me (obviously). But I don't want to end up like this, do I?
But I also need to start thinking about my overall health (Yes, my resolution and this post do have a health component. It just took me a while to get there.). As Dr. Donnica Moore, a women’s health physician featured frequently on Dr. Oz told me a few months ago, my days of staying up all night to blog and write articles will end soon. I physically won’t be able to do it. Plus, I am hoping that sleep will help me accomplish more when I am working. And hopefully it will keep me looking healthy (yes, I admit that I care about my appearance – roll your eyes all you want).
And so my New Year’s resolution for 2012 is to get more sleep. I have a Sleep Cycle app for my iPhone that I plan to use to keep me on track. It’s pretty cool. I put it under my bed sheets on my mattress and turn it on when I lie down. It uses the accelerometer in the iPhone to gauge when I’m asleep. It records sleep cycles, monitors the length of sleep sessions, and follows trends over days and weeks. My plan is to have it tell me that I averaged 6 hours of sleep per night over the course of each week (hey, it’s a start!).
Yes, I still plan to work on and expand this blog and my show and columns, and I have other projects to start soon. But it will mean cutting back on parts of my life and career that just don’t mean as much to me, because I physically and emotionally can’t do everything.
Plus, I will ask friends to remind me periodically, and nag me incessantly (see accountability in Part 1), to go to bed. No tweeting at 11:30 PM. No emailing at 4:00 AM. I know it’s not a “Do Epic Shit” type of goal, like Charlie Gilkey recommends, but it’s something I badly need to do.
Let me know what you think of the tips to achieving your resolutions or to my sleep goal specifically. And feel free to share yours! Leave your comments below or on Facebook or Twitter.
C. David Geier Jr., M.D.
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