Why I never make my bed

By now many of you have seen the University of Texas commencement address by Navy Admiral McRaven, who extols the virtues of making your bed every morning. He encourages the graduates by saying, “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.” I am hesitant to publicly contradict a decorated Navy SEAL, but I disagree completely, sir. I never make my bed. [I’ll pause for a moment while everyone gasps in horror.] People who have known me for a while are usually quite surprised to discover this about me. I like things neat and orderly, so how in the world could I leave my bed unmade? Every day??

For starters, most weekdays I leave my bedroom when I get up in the morning and I don’t see it again until I go to bed at night. At that point, having it unmade just makes it that much easier to get back in it. Also, one of my favorite things about the weekend is taking a nap, and it just seems much more likely to happen if I don’t have to mess up a nicely made bed. Do people who take a nap make the bed again? Is there a rule that says a nap that ends within X hours of bedtime negates the need to remake the bed?

The key reason I don’t make my bed, though, is the inefficiency of it all. Let’s say it takes me 5 minutes to make the bed on an average day. Multiply that by 6 days a week (because I do make the bed when I change the sheets) and then multiply that by 52 weeks a year. That’s 1,560 minutes or 26 hours a year spent on what seems like a futile task!

Try this instead

So what can you do with all of that extra time? You could add 5 minutes to your morning exercise, or spend 5 minutes in prayer or meditation. Maybe you could use that time to leave the house 5 minutes earlier so you don’t start the day so frustrated by traffic. Imagine how much better a marriage might be if couples spent 5 minutes every morning connecting in a meaningful way, such as sharing a cup of coffee and talking about what you have going on that day.

What if we thought on an even larger scale? Imagine the smiles you could bring if you sent a quick email or text just to encourage someone who needs it. Or sent a card a day to folks serving overseas. What if you spent 5 minutes a day writing to your elected officials about a cause that is important to you? What big goal could you work towards 5 minutes at a time?

So I respectfully disagree with Admiral McRaven. I say, “If you want to change the world, leave your bed unmade and use your extra 5 minutes for something meaningful.”