It’s 7:30am on a Saturday morning when I hear Julie yell across the room “What the hell are you doing Nicky?

When she uses the word “hell” and “Nicky” in the same sentence, I know something is up.

I rack my brain for possibilities – Did I leave the toilet seat up? Did I make a mess in the bathroom? I’m only a few minutes from a deep slumber so I’m startled to say the least. 

Pulling the bed sheet down in the perfect position of the corner, I respond “what do you mean baby, I’m making the bed.”

“WTF, YOU are making the bed?” Julie asks as if she can’t believe her eyes.

“Yeah baby, I’m getting my win!”

I know what you’re thinking. What does making your bed have to do with winning?

Don’t most respectable adults make their bed? Maybe. But I wasn’t one of those people. I was anti bed making.

But now it’s different. I’m a bed maker now.

Why the change of heart? What the hell happened?

Let me explain. 

From Anti Bed Making Spokesman to Bed Making Advocate

I was the one of the most outspoken anti bed making people in the world. I can’t tell you the number of heated debates I got into with Julie about the need to make the bed. This is precisely why she had a minor freak-out watching me laying out the tight corners that one morning.

This was my line of thinking before I saw the bed making light:

Does it really freakin’ matter? We’re getting into this bed in about 14-15 hours, this really doesn’t make any sense? Can’t I be spending my time on something more important? I was so anti bed making I would even go out of my way to find articles promoting the benefits of not making your bed like this one. I know, conformation bias at work here (if you look for something that supports your view of the world, you’ll find it, regardless of how legit it is or not).*

But something happened one day when I read a post by Rog Law, one of my favorite online fitness bloggers.

 My logic growing up whenever my mom saw that my bed looked like someone had a dance party in my sheets was that there was no point in making because I was just going to get back in it anyway.

Now the first thing I do when I wake up is make my bed.

Not because it looks nice, but because of the mental edge that getting a win, no matter how small, seconds after waking up gives me versus waking up, rolling over and getting caught up in the smart phone loop of death.

 It sets the tone for the rest of the day.

If you can grab a win with eye boogers and the inability to speak complete sentences, imagine what can happen once you splash some water on your face and become a fully functioning human. 

Hmm, I thought to myself, I like that logic. And then a few days later I was listening to another one of my favorite podcasts and Tim Ferriss included bed making as an essential piece to his successful morning ritual. 

His logic was similar. Get a small win under your belt early on in the day. It’s the one thing you can actually control in the wild chaos that many of our days turn into to.

 OK, I thought to myself. Let me give this thing a try. It seemed so trivial, so silly, so insignificant, but let me tell you. I’m about one month into my bed-making wins and I’m not going back. No way.

Here’s why – doing something completely in your control early on in the day can put yourself in a great position to win your day. It’s a simple habit that can easily lead to better performance, more productivity, clearer thinking, more energy, and more resilience throughout the day.

It’s also a daily habit that can lay the groundwork for other positive change in your life. 

Foundation of Positive Change = Change 1 Simple Thing

Bed making might seem so trivial in the grand scheme of life, but the larger point I want to make is how something so simple can spill over into other areas of your life.

When you set something up so easy that the chances of you succeeding are very high, you build momentum and confidence. You get a small win. This is the cornerstone to positive behavior change – making small changes that are so easy that you nail it every single time. The short-term effort required to perform the habit slowly morphs into a habit that you do automatically with very little effort.

That’s the key. Do it for about a month or so and that transition starts to take place.

The neat part is you can apply this same principle to any change you’re trying to make in your life.

Want to eat better, but can’t seem to pull it off? Change 1 thing that is so easy you can’t not do it. This is the cornerstone of our online coaching program. 

Icing on the Cake for the Fellas

And for all the guys out there who aren’t buying the bed making solution, let me tell you this. There is no better way to win over quick and easy brownie points with your lady than with a nicely made bed. End of story.

Ladies, do I I get a hell yes?

I’m sure there are still plenty of anti bed makers out there. I want to hear from you! Head over to this facebook post and let us know your take.  

Enjoy your week, 

Nick

*Learn all about the confirmation bias here

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