I tried waking up at 5AM every day

Dear reader,

I hope you are doing good.

If not so much, don’t worry. Things will get better soon.

Let’s begin.

I have considered myself a night owl for most of my life, but I spent the past 39 days waking up at 5 AM.

So why did I decide to do that and what were the results? I’ll explain.

First, the obvious, in an average traditional society, people consider being a morning person as the right thing to be.

In a more modern society, people have divided themselves into early birds and night owls.

This division is according to the time of the day someone feels the most active, circadian rhythm as some people call it.

I have considered myself a night owl mostly because of two reasons:

1. I am a tech guy who likes working in the darkness
2. I am usually too lazy to wake up early

I had heard about the benefits of waking up early for as long as I could remember but I never really tried being a morning person myself.

So why did I decide to wake up early?

I had not been feeling well-rested after waking up at 8-9 AM.

It had been bothering me.

I would eventually get myself to get some work done at night but I wanted to feel good throughout the day.

Trying an early bird schedule was one of the obvious things.

One additional reason that pushed me was my common sense.

If I do my most important work at night, my mind will already be cluttered with everything that happened during the day.

On the other hand, if I do my most important work early in the morning, nothing much will have happened by then and my mind will be free of clutter.

How was I able to wake up at 5 AM every day?

Truth be told, it was really hard in the beginning because of my years of waking up at 8/9 AM.

But a couple of things helped:

1. Going to the bed early
2. Eating light food before bed
3. Setting at least 4-6 alarms with a 5-minute interval each
4. Keeping my phone slightly far from my bed so that when the alarm rang, I couldn’t snooze it easily. I’d have to get out of bed to turn it off.
5. Not using my phone or checking my email after waking up, heading right to working (writing)

What were the results of waking up early? Worth it?

I loved it. Here’s why:

1. I felt well-rested after waking up
2. I could do the most demanding things first because of the energy I felt
3. I felt more productive throughout the day
4. I had more hours in the day
5. My sleep schedule is synced with the natural day cycle
6. Bonus reason: It’s rare

Look, I never thought I would like or even try being an early person.

For whatever reason I did, the outcomes have been interesting, and even rewarding I might say.

I suggest you try giving it a shot.

There are chances that it makes no different in your life but there also are chances that it might be life changing experiment.

Either way, it’s just trying a different sleep schedule for 2-4 weeks.

Shouldn’t be that hard.

As you try that, a few suggestions:

1. Try not using your phone or your laptop towards the evening to reduce blue light.
2. If you must use your digital devices, use a feature like “night light” to make your screen slightly yellowish
3. First, wash your face with cold water. This is an incredible tip. Showering is fine too.
4. After washing your face, move. Maybe 10 jumping jacks or something to get the blood flowing.
5. Coffee? I love my morning coffee.

The most important advice is that it is okay if you are unable to wake up early on some days. Don’t beat yourself up about it.

You might have to stay up till late on some days. Make sure that you don’t let the become two days in a row.

“Missing something once is a mistake. Missing something twice is the beginning of a new habit.”

– James Clear

Here’s what I want you to learn from this article 👇

Takeaway: If you usually wake up late, try being an early person for 2 weeks. If it makes no difference, get back to default. If helps, stick with it. Experimenting is what leads to life-changing improvement.

This week’s question for you: Do you prefer being an early bird or a night owl? Why?

Write a comment down below to let me know you read till the end, preferably with your answer.

I’ll write again next week.

See you then!

Warmly,
Suraj