People that say 'waking up is half the task' are wrong and no doubt stupid. But with that being said, do not underestimate the power of fatigue. It will be the death of you one day, and that's only if you're doing your job right. As you can probably tell by now, I'm not one to sugar coat things, I call them as they are. Waking up is a minute task compared to what is and will always be required of you. Developing the desire to 'make a difference' in the lives of our future, will not help with this at all. The fact is, you need sleep, and the sensation of switching off is all too comforting, but this does not mean you should be closing your eyes at any chance you get.

Your body will undergo a number of changes over the duration of your career, and particularly when you're first starting out. The key to beating fatigue and making sure you take this first step every single weekday until you retire, is routine. Yes, routine. By this I do not mean for you to plan out every waking and sleeping second of your life, no. By this I mean that you should establish a pattern for sleep and again, stick with it. Change is never going to be your friend, and change in sleeping patterns will make your life a living hell.

Always try to go to bed at the same time each night, by doing so, you'll be training your body to accept that it is bedtime and it will – over time – adjust to this. In conjunction with establishing a time to go to sleep, you should also establish a time that you will wake up, and remember, change is not your friend. Even if you can afford to have an extra hour or two of sleep on the occasional day, do not do it. It will leave you feeling lethargic and your body will come to expect more sleep when really it doesn't need it. Ensure that you're getting the same amount of sleep each night, because this will only have positive effects on your body and will encourage REM sleep.

Other things you can do to minimise fatigue and make the process of waking up each day easier, is by setting rules for your bedroom. First of all, you need to start by eliminating habits of sleeping elsewhere. Arm chairs, sofas, carpet and tables were not designed for sleeping on. They were designed for sitting on, walking on and writing on. If you don't know that much then I suggest you get yourself A Trolls Guide to Household Furniture. Just as sleeping is restricted solely to the bedroom, no other activities... with one exception... are to be conducted in the bedroom. Why? Well this is obvious, but it will only serve to be a distraction and therefore interfere with your ability to turn off at the end of the day. If, for some reason, you are not yet ready to commit yourself to going to sleep, and have something you need to do, read, mark or think through, then you must always leave the bedroom. There is no point in reading in bed and saying 'when I get tired, I'll go to sleep', why? Because reading stimulates the mind, you'll find that even when your eyes are heavy and your body is weak, if your mind is still active, and even the comfort of your bed won't lull you to sleep. Ultimately, a familiarity between the bed and physically, mentally or emotionally exhaustive or stimulative activities will result in sleep alluding you.

Other things that will help you enforce this sort of behaviour and encourage your body to adjust in a timely manner include the use of scented candles, particularly calming and hypnotic scents such as lavender, lily of the valley and basil. Drinking hot herbal teas half an hour before bedtime will also relax your muscles and settle your digestive tract, suggested concoctions include peppermint or chamomile teas with hints of honey or vanilla.