A Cemetery of Grand Plans
Why waking up at 6 AM is my latest ambitious experiment—and why I’m terrified to announce it.
One thing I have been genuinely excited about in 2026 is getting my sleep schedule in order. I started this quietly back in December, and I’ve been loving the progress. But honestly? I have a hard time sharing this online lest I jinx it.
My Substack publication is a cemetery of grandiose plans—ambitious ideas I announced, only to abandon most of them halfway through. So, writing this feels like walking a tightrope. But that history is my safety net: if I fall off the wagon next week, at least I warned you.
Jetlagged in Nairobi
Sometime in December, I hit a wall. I wanted to wake up early, but I physically couldn’t fall asleep early. I was trapped in a cycle of late nights and late mornings—or worse, surviving on super sleep-deprived fumes on the days I had to go into the office.
I complained to Gemini (my AI sounding board), and it told me something fascinating. It suggested I was experiencing a form of “social jet lag.” Essentially, my internal clock had shifted west. My body was operating as if I lived in the UK or a country four hours behind Kenya. If I were to move to London, I would thrive.
But I am in Kenya.
The solution was a brute-force system reboot: I had to wake up four hours earlier than my body wanted to, drag myself through the day, and hope the exhaustion would knock me out early enough to reset the cycle. I had to feel jetlagged in my own country without ever stepping on a plane.
I did it. I stuck to the routine. Now, even if I slip up and sleep at 3:00 AM, my body jolts me awake at 7:50 AM. And surprisingly, I love it.
Weird Adult Stuff (and Widgets)
The reason I’m even writing this is that the sleep schedule is just one part of a larger mission. I’ve been hunting for ways to impose order on the chaos, a search that has led me straight into the arms of what I call “weird adult shit.”
I never understood the utility of widgets; I took pride in a minimal, empty home screen. But lately, I found myself looking at my phone not for vibes, but for a solution. I’m adding calendar widgets to my home screen. I’m syncing meetings across different accounts. I’m engaging in the dark art of financial forecasting (calculating the days until the next salary is a story for another day).
But most importantly, I am using tech to protect my sleep rather than destroy it.
I’ve set up a dedicated Sleep Mode on my phone from 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM. It triggers Do Not Disturb, turns on the eye comfort shield, and mutes everything.
I’ve even toyed with the idea of buying a smart watch (Galaxy Watch) to track my sleep metrics. It’s too expensive right now—technically, I can afford it, but my 2026 financial plan (see: weird adult shit) doesn’t have room for it. For now, the phone tracking will have to do.
The Morning Reward
The discipline of waking up is useless if the morning itself isn’t worth it. I realized I needed to romanticize the AM hours to make the struggle valid.
I’ve found joy in the sensory details. There is something specifically wonderful about a hot shower when the morning air is still biting cold—it’s infinitely better than a shower at noon when the heat has already set in.
I’m also looking forward to integrating a specific ritual: Coffee at 6:00 AM. I’m not quite there yet (currently hitting 7:00 AM), but that is where I want to take this thing in the coming month. My balcony faces the morning sun, and I want to reach a point where I just sit there, coffee in hand, maybe reading a novel, letting the light hit me. It’s a vision to look forward to, rather than just waking up to rush.
The Infinite Scroll
The biggest villain in this story remains the phone itself. Specifically, doomscrolling.
I miss the days when social media had an “end.” Remember when you’d scroll and eventually hit a wall? Now, with the “For You” page, there is no bottom. No banner pops up to say, “You’ve watched every video, go to sleep.”
The algorithm is designed to keep you there forever. I have to constantly remind myself that 10 minutes should just be 10 minutes, not an accidental hour.
So, here I am, setting another ambitious goal. I’m trying to finish the first month of 2026 with a healthy sleep cycle. I’m cautiously optimistic. If you see me posting at 2:00 AM, mind your business—I’m just dealing with a little layover.