By Gretchen Rubin

My happiness project has turned me into a sleep zealot. If I want to feel happy, calm, energetic, and mentally sharp, I must get enough sleep.

At the same time, though, a resolution that has also boosted my happiness is "Get up earlier." A few years ago, because I wanted a calmer, less hurried morning with my family, I started getting up earlier -- and I enjoyed it so much that I've started setting my alarm earlier and earlier. I started at 7:00 a.m. with the rest of my family, then moved to 6:30, then 6:15, and now 6:00. I love the early morning so much that I'd wake up at 5:00, but that would mean a bedtime of about 8:00 p.m., which just isn't workable. I can barely stay up to a normal adult hour, as it is.

I spend the hour from 6:00 to 7:00 working at my desk, and I... More...