I’ve seen a bit of interest during my time here from users who want to wake up early. Recently, I’ve managed to adjust my wake-up time to around 6 AM, which is something I haven’t done since high school.
Being an early riser is something that I’ve long wanted to be, but I never quite got to stick. Things are looking quite good this time however, and I thought some users may get a bit of value from it.
Before I say anything else, waking up early does not automatically make you productive. It’s not some big ‘secret’ that will single-handedly change your life. Much like working out, cold showers, or stimulants* it is a tool. It may be right for you, it may help you, it may be a giant action fake because you ‘need to wake up at 4 AM before I can get started on my Fastlane business’
*Don’t do stimulants, kids
Anyway, without further ado…
How to Stop Sucking at Being an Early Riser
First Things First…
Do You Actually Need to Wake Up Earlier?
Look, without a doubt, waking up earlier in morning is a simple way to reclaim some time. Maybe to work on your business, stop rushing to work, or just have some peace and quiet before the day starts.
But do you need to? In a previous thread, I read a great point that eliquid made. Why not just stay up later and work? Working two hours later into the night and waking up two hours earlier have more or less the same affect (all else being equal).
Personally, I’ve found my brain begins to shut down around 8. Sometimes I can stay up late and crank out some good work, but those times are the exception.
Don’t try and adjust your sleep schedule to be an early riser because of some mythical ‘this is what productive people do’ idea. It’s not about what other people do, it’s about what works for you.
So, if you’ve always done good work at night, why throw that away?
Note, I said good work. Not frantic, last-minute essay writing fueled by Monster Energy and self-loathing.
Second Things Second…
Get Your F*cking Sleep
Look, I’m sorry to tell you this. But if you want to wake up at 5 AM, then going to bed at 2 AM isn’t going to cut it.
There are certain people who only need 4-6 hours of sleep a night to function perfectly. You’re not one of them.
Get your 7-8 hours. If you don’t, modern medicine says you’re going to suffer for it. Not just by being exhausted, but by increased chances for future health issues.
For me, I’ve found I need around 9 hours. Probably because I have a sleep debt accumulated from god-awful habits from Elementary School to College. I also suffered from insomnia which really screwed me over.
Hopefully, as I get older, and as I develop better sleep hygiene, I’ll need less.
Studies tend to show that out of the top three things you can do to be healthy (Sleep, Diet, and Exercise) sleeping tends to be the most important.
Your body needs sleep. You’re not a badass because you’re operating on two hours and crushed up caffeine pills. Frankly, you’re a loose cannon that puts everyone at risk whenever you get behind the wheel.
Now, if you’re sure you want to wake up earlier and you’re getting your required sleep, here is some real advice.
Stop Trying to be an Early Riser from Day One
This is where most people screw up. It’s where I’ve screwed up.
Picture this.
An overweight man, let’s call him Charlie, has unhealthy habits. He wakes up less than an hour before work, rushes through his morning routine and grabs McDonald's breakfast on the way. For lunch he has whatever his friends at the office decide to order from. Throughout the day he has a few sodas. He goes home and for dinner may order take-out, pick up fast food, or, if he’s feeling frisky, make something tasty.
Now, Charlie has decided that he has had enough of being out of shape. Good for him! He’s going to make a change.
Starting tomorrow he’s going to eat healthy.
He wakes up a bit earlier and makes a tasty smoothie of oats, chia seeds, plain yogurt, and a spoonful of honey.
Oh wait, did I say tasty? Because I lied. It tastes terrible.
He doesn’t finish it and goes to work.
At work, he sips plain, unsweetened green tea. For lunch, while his colleagues chow down on delicious BBQ, he eats a salad without dressing.
How long do you think Charlie can keep this up?
Not long.
Eventually, he’s going to say “Screw this!”
Tip 1: Small Changes First
It’s the same with trying to be an ‘early riser’.
If you’re like me back when I wasn’t getting enough sleep, you’ll try and resolve all of your morning problems in one swoop.
“I’m going to wake up at 6 AM tomorrow, even though I normally wake up at 10!”
“Then, I’m going to go for a run!”
“After that, I’ll have a healthy breakfast and get to work early!”
Yea…you’re not going to do that.
You’re asking a lot of yourself when you demand all of these sudden changes. Don’t try and do it all. For one, it’s too much and you won’t be able to keep the momentum going. For two, it sucks.
Wake up half an hour earlier. That’s it. After you’ve done that, push it a bit further back.
Once waking up at an earlier time is part of your day to day routine, then you can start being ‘productive’ with it. But only after getting up earlier has become the ‘standard’ for you should you opt or a run or going to the gym.
My girlfriend almost fell into this trap. When we decided to wake up earlier, she wanted to have a nice breakfast and do a thirty-minute intense yoga session right off the bat.
After the first day, she was not on board.
Instead, we decided that waking up would be the ‘goal’. If she woke up early, then that’s enough. She can be proud of that. If she decides that she has enough time and energy to do yoga, well that’s fantastic.
And she doesn’t even have to do the yoga session that’s designed to be a tough work out. Instead, she can do a shorter, easier one.
Pick the battles you can win. You’re in this for the long haul.
Tip 2: Make Getting Up Something You Want to Do
This goes hand in hand with the previous section.
If you wake up, and you really want to just crawl deeper under the covers and fall asleep, why would you get out of bed and go for a run? Especially if you hate exercising?
Instead, use your newfound time for something you want to do. Forget all of the gurus and life-hackers that tell you to ‘meditate’, journal, or whatever.
If you want to do them, sure. But don’t try and force them on yourself.
Because if you do, you’re going to have to make the choice to enjoy the comforts of bed or doing a chore.
And when you’re still half asleep, you’re not going to make the good decision.
Instead, do something you really want. Maybe you would like a nice breakfast, to enjoy a cup of coffee and a book, or just a bit of silence before you have to get your kids ready for school.
Trust me, this is going to make life a lot easier.
Don’t make the very first thing you have to do be a make a tough decision. Choosing between great pleasure and later guilt when your brain is still warming up is a really bad way to start off your morning.
Tip 3: Accept That the Universe is a Cruel, Uncaring Void
You can blame this one on other people.
People like to make it seem like they jump out of bed bright eyed and bushy tailed. That when their alarm goes off, their eyes open wide and they leap from under the covers. They’re excited to take on the day, they’re full of energy.
They’re full of something all right…
Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve found much more success when I accepted that “I am not going to be wide awake first thing in the morning.” No matter how much I sleep.
Instead, I have to accept the fact that waking up is kind of shitty. Even if I sleep for an extra hour.
So, stop trying to wake up fresh and rejuvenated. When you open your eyes, accept that this is as good as it’s going to get while you’re in bed. Going back to sleep is not going to help you at all.
Your life can’t always be fun and easy. Sometimes, you have to embrace things that suck (this is where having something to look forward to helps).
For some reason, I had it in my head that being an early riser meant waking up full of life and motivation. So I was really bummed out when I discovered I was mortal and this wasn’t feasible.
That said, once I said to myself “Getting up is going to suck, but I’ll have plenty of time to warm up. I can enjoy a book and a cup of coffee without worrying about anything” it was much easier to manage.
Because now, when I open my eyes, I think, “Okay. This kind of sucks, but going back to sleep won’t make it any better.” And then, I accept it and get moving.
Tip 4: It’s On You
Okay, so, here’s the thing.
Those tips I gave you, they helped me. They helped me a lot.
That said, at the end of the day, it’s still on you.
There is never a magic formula or silver bullet.
If you want to do something, you have to be the one to do it. When the morning comes, you are the one who decides if you slide out of bed and take on the day…
Or if you hit the snooze button and curl back under the covers.
There’s no magic formula. It’s about trying it, adjusting to what fits you best…
And getting it done.
~~~~
I’ll leave you with this quote from Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations
At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I am rising to do the work of a human being. What do I have to complain about, if I’m going to do what I was born for—the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?” — But it’s nicer here …
So were you born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands? — But we have to sleep sometime… Agreed. But nature set a limit on that — as it did on eating and drinking. And you’re over the limit. You’ve had more than enough of that. But not of working. There’s still more of that to do.
You don’t love yourself enough. For if you did, you’d love your nature too, and what it demands of you
Being an early riser is something that I’ve long wanted to be, but I never quite got to stick. Things are looking quite good this time however, and I thought some users may get a bit of value from it.
Before I say anything else, waking up early does not automatically make you productive. It’s not some big ‘secret’ that will single-handedly change your life. Much like working out, cold showers, or stimulants* it is a tool. It may be right for you, it may help you, it may be a giant action fake because you ‘need to wake up at 4 AM before I can get started on my Fastlane business’
*Don’t do stimulants, kids
Anyway, without further ado…
How to Stop Sucking at Being an Early Riser
First Things First…
Do You Actually Need to Wake Up Earlier?
Look, without a doubt, waking up earlier in morning is a simple way to reclaim some time. Maybe to work on your business, stop rushing to work, or just have some peace and quiet before the day starts.
But do you need to? In a previous thread, I read a great point that eliquid made. Why not just stay up later and work? Working two hours later into the night and waking up two hours earlier have more or less the same affect (all else being equal).
Personally, I’ve found my brain begins to shut down around 8. Sometimes I can stay up late and crank out some good work, but those times are the exception.
Don’t try and adjust your sleep schedule to be an early riser because of some mythical ‘this is what productive people do’ idea. It’s not about what other people do, it’s about what works for you.
So, if you’ve always done good work at night, why throw that away?
Note, I said good work. Not frantic, last-minute essay writing fueled by Monster Energy and self-loathing.
Second Things Second…
Get Your F*cking Sleep
Look, I’m sorry to tell you this. But if you want to wake up at 5 AM, then going to bed at 2 AM isn’t going to cut it.
There are certain people who only need 4-6 hours of sleep a night to function perfectly. You’re not one of them.
Get your 7-8 hours. If you don’t, modern medicine says you’re going to suffer for it. Not just by being exhausted, but by increased chances for future health issues.
For me, I’ve found I need around 9 hours. Probably because I have a sleep debt accumulated from god-awful habits from Elementary School to College. I also suffered from insomnia which really screwed me over.
Hopefully, as I get older, and as I develop better sleep hygiene, I’ll need less.
Studies tend to show that out of the top three things you can do to be healthy (Sleep, Diet, and Exercise) sleeping tends to be the most important.
Your body needs sleep. You’re not a badass because you’re operating on two hours and crushed up caffeine pills. Frankly, you’re a loose cannon that puts everyone at risk whenever you get behind the wheel.
Now, if you’re sure you want to wake up earlier and you’re getting your required sleep, here is some real advice.
Stop Trying to be an Early Riser from Day One
This is where most people screw up. It’s where I’ve screwed up.
Picture this.
An overweight man, let’s call him Charlie, has unhealthy habits. He wakes up less than an hour before work, rushes through his morning routine and grabs McDonald's breakfast on the way. For lunch he has whatever his friends at the office decide to order from. Throughout the day he has a few sodas. He goes home and for dinner may order take-out, pick up fast food, or, if he’s feeling frisky, make something tasty.
Now, Charlie has decided that he has had enough of being out of shape. Good for him! He’s going to make a change.
Starting tomorrow he’s going to eat healthy.
He wakes up a bit earlier and makes a tasty smoothie of oats, chia seeds, plain yogurt, and a spoonful of honey.
Oh wait, did I say tasty? Because I lied. It tastes terrible.
He doesn’t finish it and goes to work.
At work, he sips plain, unsweetened green tea. For lunch, while his colleagues chow down on delicious BBQ, he eats a salad without dressing.
How long do you think Charlie can keep this up?
Not long.
Eventually, he’s going to say “Screw this!”
Tip 1: Small Changes First
It’s the same with trying to be an ‘early riser’.
If you’re like me back when I wasn’t getting enough sleep, you’ll try and resolve all of your morning problems in one swoop.
“I’m going to wake up at 6 AM tomorrow, even though I normally wake up at 10!”
“Then, I’m going to go for a run!”
“After that, I’ll have a healthy breakfast and get to work early!”
Yea…you’re not going to do that.
You’re asking a lot of yourself when you demand all of these sudden changes. Don’t try and do it all. For one, it’s too much and you won’t be able to keep the momentum going. For two, it sucks.
Wake up half an hour earlier. That’s it. After you’ve done that, push it a bit further back.
Once waking up at an earlier time is part of your day to day routine, then you can start being ‘productive’ with it. But only after getting up earlier has become the ‘standard’ for you should you opt or a run or going to the gym.
My girlfriend almost fell into this trap. When we decided to wake up earlier, she wanted to have a nice breakfast and do a thirty-minute intense yoga session right off the bat.
After the first day, she was not on board.
Instead, we decided that waking up would be the ‘goal’. If she woke up early, then that’s enough. She can be proud of that. If she decides that she has enough time and energy to do yoga, well that’s fantastic.
And she doesn’t even have to do the yoga session that’s designed to be a tough work out. Instead, she can do a shorter, easier one.
Pick the battles you can win. You’re in this for the long haul.
Tip 2: Make Getting Up Something You Want to Do
This goes hand in hand with the previous section.
If you wake up, and you really want to just crawl deeper under the covers and fall asleep, why would you get out of bed and go for a run? Especially if you hate exercising?
Instead, use your newfound time for something you want to do. Forget all of the gurus and life-hackers that tell you to ‘meditate’, journal, or whatever.
If you want to do them, sure. But don’t try and force them on yourself.
Because if you do, you’re going to have to make the choice to enjoy the comforts of bed or doing a chore.
And when you’re still half asleep, you’re not going to make the good decision.
Instead, do something you really want. Maybe you would like a nice breakfast, to enjoy a cup of coffee and a book, or just a bit of silence before you have to get your kids ready for school.
Trust me, this is going to make life a lot easier.
Don’t make the very first thing you have to do be a make a tough decision. Choosing between great pleasure and later guilt when your brain is still warming up is a really bad way to start off your morning.
Tip 3: Accept That the Universe is a Cruel, Uncaring Void
You can blame this one on other people.
People like to make it seem like they jump out of bed bright eyed and bushy tailed. That when their alarm goes off, their eyes open wide and they leap from under the covers. They’re excited to take on the day, they’re full of energy.
They’re full of something all right…
Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve found much more success when I accepted that “I am not going to be wide awake first thing in the morning.” No matter how much I sleep.
Instead, I have to accept the fact that waking up is kind of shitty. Even if I sleep for an extra hour.
So, stop trying to wake up fresh and rejuvenated. When you open your eyes, accept that this is as good as it’s going to get while you’re in bed. Going back to sleep is not going to help you at all.
Your life can’t always be fun and easy. Sometimes, you have to embrace things that suck (this is where having something to look forward to helps).
For some reason, I had it in my head that being an early riser meant waking up full of life and motivation. So I was really bummed out when I discovered I was mortal and this wasn’t feasible.
That said, once I said to myself “Getting up is going to suck, but I’ll have plenty of time to warm up. I can enjoy a book and a cup of coffee without worrying about anything” it was much easier to manage.
Because now, when I open my eyes, I think, “Okay. This kind of sucks, but going back to sleep won’t make it any better.” And then, I accept it and get moving.
Tip 4: It’s On You
Okay, so, here’s the thing.
Those tips I gave you, they helped me. They helped me a lot.
That said, at the end of the day, it’s still on you.
There is never a magic formula or silver bullet.
If you want to do something, you have to be the one to do it. When the morning comes, you are the one who decides if you slide out of bed and take on the day…
Or if you hit the snooze button and curl back under the covers.
There’s no magic formula. It’s about trying it, adjusting to what fits you best…
And getting it done.
~~~~
I’ll leave you with this quote from Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations
At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I am rising to do the work of a human being. What do I have to complain about, if I’m going to do what I was born for—the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?” — But it’s nicer here …
So were you born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands? — But we have to sleep sometime… Agreed. But nature set a limit on that — as it did on eating and drinking. And you’re over the limit. You’ve had more than enough of that. But not of working. There’s still more of that to do.
You don’t love yourself enough. For if you did, you’d love your nature too, and what it demands of you
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