The right way to make one’s bed

Back in 2017, I had read a book titled “Make your bed” by Admiral William H. McRaven. 

Initially, I had rated that book well below average, yet there was the title of the book and that quote inside that both stuck with me: “If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another.” 

The author, a retired military officer, ex-Navy SEAL with a 37 year military career, postulated that making one’s bed every morning is a simple act that can have a ripple effect on one’s day and ultimately, on one’s life. He used this metaphor to illustrate the importance of discipline, consistency, and small wins in achieving larger goals. 

For more than four decades of living together, my wife and I would get up, do our morning things and only later, one of us, overwhelmingly my wife, would then make the bed. 

A few years ago, we finally moved from a Queen to a King size bed (76" x 80") and one person alone had much more work to do in making that larger bed as it’s a long back and forth trips on both sides to correctly do the job. 

So, for the last couple of months, we’ve been making our bed immediately as we rise in the morning, and this signals a dynamic start of the day that gets us going on the right foot and with a salutary burst of energy!