Have you ever thought about waking up early? I know it’s summer right now and it’s good weather to sleep in, but why not make the best use of the time right now?
Recently, I was watching the weather news forecast and was startled to see that most of the country was going through severe heat temperatures that rose up to the 100s! Besides a cool morning, here are some reasons why we should become an early riser.
More Time
It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, one thing that we can all agree on is that it’s nice to have more time. If you normally wake up at 8:00 a.m. and started a routine of waking up at 5:00 a.m., you would be able to save three hours a day to do whatever you wanted to do. That’s 21 hours a week or 90 hours of free time a month.
Think about what you could accomplish with 90 hours of free time to yourself that you probably wouldn’t be able to get during the day. Could you finish writing an amazing e-book in 90 hours or comment on 1,000 blogs in 90 hours?
Could you use that time to do a hobby that you’ve always wanted to do such as learn a new language, play an instrument, start an exercising regimen, or prepare for a marathon? Whatever it happens to be, waking up early gives you more time to make these types of activities possible.
More Energy
When I began the summer, I used to wake up at around 9:30 a.m. everyday and it made me feel so grumpy and tired upon waking up. I would want to fall back to sleep every time knowing that I had woken up late in the day.
My friend who lives 10 minutes away from me was even worse. He woke up at 11 a.m. everyday. One day I decided that if we wanted to make the best use of summer, we would need to wake up earlier. I proposed that we meet up at 6 a.m. everyday for 30 days.
For the first three days, we failed. Finally, we were able to do it and now it’s automatic. I wake up at 5:40 a.m., pick up my friend in front of his house at six, then we drive to the beach and take a 30 minute walk to the pier while discussing motivation and success philosophies.
It’s a really great way to jump start the morning with positive energy and set the tone for the rest of the day.
More Peace
One of the things I really appreciate about the morning is its serene stillness. We know how crazy the day can get. It never seems to be still and noises are constantly moving. You hear the cars passing by, your neighbor’s conversation, and that dog that just doesn’t stop barking.
On bad days (which is every Thursday for me), you’ll hear the garbage disposer truck circling throughout the neighborhood and the lawn mowers blasting their heavy blowers. Even with my windows closed, you can still hear everything.
But in the morning, none of this happens. You might hear birds chirping, but that’s more like music to my ears. With more peace, you’re going to be a lot more likely to get more mental work done, or if you’re a person who just likes to sip coffee, relax, and contemplate about life, that works too.
Tips on Waking Up Early
Now you might be wondering this is all dandy and good, but how do I wake up? The best answer I can give you is that you just have to do it. You just have to wake up and make it into a habit.
There’s no big secret here. But there are some ways which can help make it easier on yourself to wake up on time. I’ve listed 10 ideas that you can apply to quicken this process. You can try all of these ways or just the ones that you think will apply to you:
- Write down the most important reasons why you want to wake up and stick those reasons somewhere on your wall so you have to see them everyday
- Place your alarm clock across the room or in another room so you have to actually get up out of your bed to turn it off
- Stay up when you get up (don’t let your body “talk” you back into falling asleep for five more minutes)
- Turn on all the lights (this stops your brain from releasing a chemical that makes you fall asleep called melatonin)
- Walk to the bathroom and immediately splash your face with cold water
- Leave your computer on and watch a 30-minute episode of your favorite show (watching The Office is probably not a good idea)
- Drink a cool glass of water that you left on your table next to your bed the night before
- Blast your favorite song and start dancing to it (Party Rock Anthem or Yeah 3X are good choices)
- Meet up with your friend (knock on his window if he’s still sleeping to help him wake up)
- Tell your friend to call your cell phone (if you happen to oversleep so he helps you out in return)
It can be difficult to transition to an early riser if you have been a late riser your entire life, but being able to see the other side of it now, I’d say that it’s worth it. If anything, you can try waking up for 30 days and see if it works for you.
If not, you can always switch back. So what time do you currently wake up? Do you want to wake up early?
Hulbert Lee is a graduate student who has a secret obsession with internet marketing. But at heart, he is a writer, and he hopes to help others learn how to focus better so they can achieve success in the world of IM. If you have time, please visit his website over at http://howtofocusbetter.com/.
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{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Hulbert,
You are absolutely right, all those minutes really do add up! Being an early riser certainly has it’s advantages. I’m not sure about blasting my favorite song right when I hop out of bed though lol, that normally doesn’t happen until at least noon, but I guess we all have our own “wake up” routines.
Hey Darryl! Thanks for dropping by. Yes, we do all have our wake up routines. It’s just a matter of finding one that works for you. I don’t blast music to wake me up; it was just an idea, but I’m glad you brought that up!
I’ve never been a morning person for most of my life but the moment I became a die-hard snow skier, I forced myself to get up at 6 am and out the door by 6:45 am for a two hour drive to my favourite local ski resort. I hated getting up so early but once I got on the fresh snow before the crowds came in, I was happy that I did. This also meant that I had to get to bed by 10 pm the night before if I was to get in my eight hours of sleep. This became a seasonal shift for me during the winters only.
Then I got my current two dogs who are both six years old now. For some reason, they like to get up at about 6:30 am each morning and check me out to see if I’m awake yet. Most of the time, I do get up with them now and I have noticed that I am more productive during those first few hours of the day.
Sometimes I still revert back to my night owl habits but would still get up relatively early. If I don’t get the eight hours of sleep I wanted, a short nap in the early afternoon usually gets me through the rest of the day.
Hey Clint, that’s awesome that you wake up to go skiing in the morning. I don’t think I’ve even seen or touched snow in the last 10 years of my life (live in SoCal). Thanks for sharing us this part of your life. It’s great example of what having good reasons can do to inspire us to wake up early in the morning!
Great post. waking up early is a great way to start the day. I used to sleep all morning but now I am often up before the sun, and I get a lot more done through the day.
I like to start the day off with a nice meditation, but when I got up late, there were too many distractions going on to really focus. Now that I wake up early, it is a great way to start the day
Hi James, thanks for the comment. I’m glad you transitioned from sleeping in to waking up early. It really is a great way to start the day, and is an ideal time to meditate and focus on the present moment.
Hi, Hulbert,
I like your idea of writing a post on this topic, as I think it is really essential for everyone to be an early riser. There are so many benefits to it…sometimes, it seems as 24 hours a day are not enough to finish with all the commitments, so, then, why not taking the best out of it and starting the earliest as possible?
Answering your question, I do get up early, around 6.30 or 7 a.m., although it can depend. I think I make much more things during the day if I get up earlier, as, logically,I have more times on my hands.
Hi Kristina, I like your point. Productivity is about managing time wisely, and one way to make the best use of your time by getting your most important tasks done early in the day. Thanks for dropping by. I’m glad you’re an early riser!
I’ve been doing this all my life and it’s fantastic. I love the silence, being the only person on the streets, witnessing the transition from night to day.
I haven’t ever really used the time for productive things, it’s just nice to have the time for myself.
Hi Paul, yeah I know exactly what you mean by “witnessing the transition from night to day.” It’s pretty cool to see outside go from completely dark to light blue. That’s why I like the morning; it provides peace and solitude for people who just want to contemplate about life, or things of that nature.
Hi there. It’s a nice share from you. It’s a very nice topic. But somehow, I still unable to wake up any earlier than I usually do.
Thanks Andrew. Try some of the tips that I’ve provided. Maybe they will help you wake up earlier than you usually do.
I am not one of those morning people. I am more of a night owl. I find that I get more done late at night and into the early hours of the morning. Things are quieter, less distractions, and it is just peaceful. Then, I sleep much later than 5 am. If I were to get up 3 hours earlier than what I do. I tend to go to sleep 3 hours earlier, and I really don’t gain anything. I wish I could sometimes, but I hate getting up early.
That’s cool. I used to be a night owl myself. There are benefits to being an early riser or a night owl. It just depends on works the best for you. Thanks for your comment Ray.
I have habit of early getting up each day and after doing my morning walk I enjoy my whole day with work. Getting up also brings +ve effects on personality.
So you’re a morning walker too, huh? That’s pretty awesome Smith.
Hi Hulbert… When I was a student especially in the college days.. The word early doesn’t even exist in my dictionary but right now.. Waking up early definitely is in me.. I can do more things before i go to work and once I am in the office.. I know what to do next.. I would say waking up early helps me plan what to do ahead in the later part of my work..
Same here! I never woke up early in my college days unless it was a must. By right now as I have more time, I’ve learned that it’s important to manage your time wisely when there’s no one telling you to do stuff. I feel a lot more productive than I used to be. And like you said, it’s a lot easier to plan stuff later in the day with a clear mind. Thanks for your comment Ricardus!
Funny to see this now, last week i started a 6 AM wake up program that till now it’s been doing wonders. I look at the time when it’s 11AM and i can’t believe how much work i’ve done till then, and how much time i still have for work. I also naturally get sleepy around 10PM, so i don’t have to force myself to sleep like i used to, at 2-3AM. This gets me more rested in the morning.
It’s a wonder how i didn’t think of doing this sooner.
Hey Amit, I’m glad you are seeing the benefits of being an early riser! I used to be the same way too — finding myself struggling to sleep around 2 to 3 AM. Now I get sleepy around 10 to 11 PM. It’s a great feeling to get so much done before noon. Keep it up!
This is the right which I am looking for, this all about positive energy and that’s what everyone need to do things in a better way.. happy to admit that I love this blog..
Thanks Raj. Glad you liked the post!
Hulbert -
This is such great advice!! I actually *had* to start getting up earlier a few years ago when I started my new job, and even though at first I was very grumbly most mornings about losing my precious sleep, I have noticed that I have a lot more energy now and have more productive days than I did when I would sleep away most of the morning.
~Rosie
Hi Rosie, congrats with the new job! It’s funny how after a few days or so waking up early, you start to get used to it and the grumpiness gets replaced with positive energy. It’s nice to hear that you are more productive these days. Good job!
These are all really great ideas, but what about those of us who just can’t get to sleep before midnight or 1am? I have always been a night owl, and sleeping before then is near impossible most days. Would you still suggest getting up at 6am for someone like me?
It depends on you Natasha. I used to be a night owl too, but after seeing what it was like to be an early riser, I saw the many benefits that it had and currently wouldn’t want to switch back. As I said at the end of the post, you might want to give it a try for 30 days and see if it works for you!
Yeah, Better try than never, I’m getting forward to follow all your guidelines…Thank you for sharing such ah wonderful thoughts…
You’re welcome, Hannamay.
I would love to wake up early if I could just go to bed earlier!
If you manage to wake up earlier, your body will naturally get more tired and sleepy at night!
Well, inorder to get up early you need to go to bed early as well.When I finish work at 11 pm and come home even later , I can’t even get up at 5 am as 5-4 hours of sleep is not enough. It is good when your working hours allow you to do it
That’s true Anna. Sometimes people do not have the type of schedule that is flexible enough for them to wake up early. Thanks for your comment here!
I like to stay up until at least 11 or 12 at night. Although this doesn’t help me in the morning. If I’m lucky my toddler will sleep until 7 am. Unfortunately, my husband is up earlier than that and usually makes enough noise to wake our little guy up before 7.
Hulbert,
Great list of reasons to wake up early
I used to be a later riser. However, at some point my life priorities changed and I started setting up goals for myself.
I realized that without a strong motivation to wake up at 5 AM (or whatever your time may be), it is going to be hard to stick to that change.
My motivation was to succeed in sports. Now as the years have passed, I have another goal and it is to build my online business.
They are the reasons why I wake up at 5.15 AM (during the weekdays).
However, if you are in a situation that you want to reach a goal of yours and you realize that one of the ways is to wake up early, then that is the right approach.
Hi, I think the tips on waking up early are good but also keep in mind that you should sleep early to make it easier for you to do those.
I have love with these words
Early to get ,early to rise
Make a man healthy wealthy and wise.
Nice article Hulbert! There is a difference in working in the morning, waking up early and start your day early. Just think what or who is the reason why you wake up early. In my case, its for my family.
Hulbert - I’ve tried doing the early riser thing before, but I’m just a lot more productive at night! In the end I came up with a compromise - I get up earlier than I used to, but not so much that I don’t get any sleep at night when I inevitably stay up late. I think that’s as good as it’s going to get for me!
Thanks for the tips, the weather is getting a bit more depressive here, so I’ve started getting up two hours later than usual. It’s not a big deal job-wise, I don’t have strict work-hours, but I feel that I use up more of my day, if i rise up earlier and finish work-stuff earlier.
Being a professional early riser myself, I can attest to the awesomeness of the early mornings. I find the only downside is living in a cold area, such as here in Toronto. When I lived abroad I wouldn’t mind waking up early because of the serene quiteness and WARMTH of the area. Here it’s just so cold you want to stay in bed…