We’ve all heard the excuses of the complacent:
“I’m not a morning person.”
“I need my sleep.”
“I’m a night owl.”
“We’re not supposed to wake up before the sun, it’s science”
“If I don’t get 8 hours, I will self-combust”
What goes up, must come down, therefore, for every reason someone has that they can’t wake up early, there is an equal or greater reason that they CAN wake up early!
If you work a 9–5 job (which is more like 7–7) it will always feel like you just don’t have enough time to do things for yourself.
New 3x a week gym routine? You’ll be lucky if you go twice.
New book to read? Best of luck hitting page 50/400 by Sunday.
Side business you want to work on? My condolences to your dreams.
Developing new habits and working on long-term projects that will give you fulfillment and satisfaction is hard, serious work.
It needs to be reserved for when energy, mood, and motivation are at an all-time high.
Thus, the best time to work on your dreams is in the morning, before 6am.
Here are 5 reasons why you need to start waking up at 5am:
1) The World is Still Asleep
You’re less likely to get any sort of notifications at 5am, meaning you will have total silence, and your undivided attention can go to the task at hand.
2) Willpower is at the All-Time High
Despite popular belief, willpower is a finite resource. When you wake up at 5am, there is no matter that requires your urgent attention, besides the one that you choose to focus your efforts on. If you want to learn a new skill, an instrument, a language, or exercise, it will be easiest to do when you wake up.
3) Extra Time for Planning
You can update your short/long-term goal list, journal, plan your day and have the peace of mind that you are in control of your day, and not the other way around. This is also a great way to reduce stress/anxiety.
4) The Accumulation Effect
By giving yourself 2 additional hours every morning, by the end of the week, you will have given yourself an additional 14 hours to channel into whatever you want. In a month, that’s 60 hours. In a year, that’s 720 hours.
Think about something you’d like to get better at, and now picture how you would do said activity with over 700 hours under your belt.
5) Improved Quality of Sleep
By gifting yourself the discipline of a sleep schedule, your body will award you with abundant energy during the day, and help to naturally shut you off when night time rolls around. I have written more in-depth about sleep cycles here.
These benefits will be experienced once the discipline of waking up has been implemented. This in turn will lead to better control over your day, and ultimately, total control over your life.
Reach Your Apex
As a personal trainer, I know that fitness is a catalyst to success, that is accessible to all. I have released a training routine that can be done by anyone at any fitness level.
Get the training routine here!