The 5am Club - Worth it?

[GuestUser4aMPs1]

Wake at 5am or 10am? I'd rather choose 10am.

Waking to an alarm and knocking back two black coffees before the rooster crows is too reminiscent of a previous life we'd all rather not talk about...

Besides, I get more done throughout the day if I wake later.
Despite...you know, waking later...

At the least, the same stuff's getting done.
Only 5am is waaaay more painful for marginal gain.

 

[Apo]

Hi all,

So I recently tried to change my habits and wake up at 5am while going to bed much earlier in the evening. I used my morning time to work on my project, organise my day and thoughts and work out. Results have been good although there are some drawbacks I address in my video.

Are some of you guys doing the same, what is your experience and observations about this?

View: https://youtu.be/5fX1uNEjpWw

 

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[B. Cole]

In your case I guess it is hard to have a routine as such if you have to deal with different time zones. Do you get tired of having, from what I understand, a schedule that can be random because of driven by who you have to talk to and their time zones? My dad was a long haul commercial pilot, his body clock was all messed up which resulted in tiredness..

Sometimes. Mostly, the anticipation of this business being successful renders my tiredness a mute point. People often mistake tired with boredom or lament, with not wanting to do what they are doing. If your prospect’s success excites you, it stimulates you to get up early, stay up late and grind like a mad man, even when the tasks are dull.

Rest if you need to, but business first.

 

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[The Abundant Man]

I wake up at 3 am. You're slacking.

I wake up at 1am. I have a friend that wakes up at 10pm. I know the majority of people wake up at 7, 8, 9, 10am. Who's slacking now?!

 

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[Apo]

I wake up at 1am. I have a friend that wakes up at 10pm. I know the majority of people wake up at 7, 8, 9, 10am. Who's slacking now?!

Ok so now you are actually living during the night haha. How come such an early wake up? Are you working with people in different time zones?

 

[RazorCut]

I don't think your success is measured by the time you wake up, but by the things you do.

Very true. The benefits of a 5am start for many is that you can be much more focused and productive as distractions are vastly reduced when most of the population are still asleep.

Also, if I shifted my day forward by two hours (went to bed at midnight instead of 10pm and got up at 7am) I would probably not work the extra 2 hours into the evening as that would interfere with family obligations etc.. So that means my effective working day would be cut short.

It's very much an individual thing. We tend to build a flow dependant on our particular business.

When I had a pizzeria many years ago I used to get home late, sometimes after midnight. I was wired and sleep was the last thing on my mind. I would fire up the PC and play CSS with my fellow clan members, sometimes until dawn.

It took me a long time to get out of that late night, late morning habit. A long time after I had a manager in place and didn't spend my evenings at work.

 

[The Abundant Man]

Ok so now you are actually living during the night haha. How come such an early wake up? Are you working with people in different time zones?

I was just making a joke about people who one up each other all the time to boost their own ego

 

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[The Abundant Man]

Early to rise
Late to bed

is the motto

 

[business_man]

I disagree big time.
Sleep is so important that you need to know how many hours does your body need and fulfil that need. There are exceptions but I mean your general life should be balanced.

its not only how many but when - too. I never really researched that, me personaly just go by the feeling. But I heard that certain hormones are only made between 00.00-02.00 am, so if you miss that, you don't get them. Again I have no idea how it works exactly. And I am sure there are more factors like that.

I feel like I am most productive in the morning and then again in the evening. Noon between 2-3pm till 4-5pm my brain is foggy Probably something like Lex said, he found interesting way battling that

What helps me most is to go out of this state is going for meditation/walk, for about 20-30min. I just figured out I might write a post about this, haha

 

[minivanman]

I could get up at 5am but I don't really work well until about 6pm. I've always pushed the envelope to get up as close to the time I have to do something as possible. I get up at 6:40am every day to take my grandson to school but I come back home and sleep a few more hours. lol Even when I had a lot of girls working for me, I'd get naps in when ever possible.

 

[Roli]

I started the 5 a.m. thing in October of 2014, I remember it well because it was the point at which I decided to wake up and smell the coffee, so to speak.

Back then I was just about to start a slow lane job, and I found that waking up at that time was great because I could work on my own stuff for a full 2 hours before going off to work. I also loved the feeling of feeling like it was the middle of the day while everyone else looked like they still needed to be in bed.

Over four years later and I still do it out of habit, if I sleep till 7 it feels like I've been a lazy so-and-so, although I do try and go back to sleep on the weekends.

My routine is wake at 5 a.m. - 5.10 meditate 20-25 mins then start work.

My bedtimes vary, ideally I'll go to bed at 10.30, however I'm often in bed by midnight, I can survive for 4-5 days on just 5 hours sleep, however will need to catch up on the weekend if I do this. Six and a half hours is perfect, seven or more makes me groggy.

Is waking up early objectively important? Probably not, is it important to me? Hells yeah!

For those wanting to try, I always advise that you should do it incrementally. So if you wake up at 7, set your alarm for 5 minutes earlier each day, in a month you'll be waking up at 5 and won't even realise it.

 

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[struka]

I go to bed at 9:30-10:00 and get up at 5:00 to work out before wife and kids wake up. I am not a morning person so it takes time for my brain to be active which is why I do a physical activity instead of things that take my deep concentration.
Honestly, I think it really depends on a person. I feel like the wake up early routine is in the same category as wearing the same style shirt (uniform) every day to decrease your thinking of selecting what to wear (think of Steve Jobs turtleneck shirt). It is what the "successful people do" theme. Just because you wake up early doesn't mean you will be more productive.

 

[Daniel A]

It depends.

 

[Raoul Duke]

I wake up at 1am. I have a friend that wakes up at 10pm. I know the majority of people wake up at 7, 8, 9, 10am. Who's slacking now?!

I was just making a joke about people who one up each other all the time to boost their own ego

I actually wake up at 3 am. What is your excuse for being a jackass?

 

[biophase]

I dont know, something to do with the forum settings I guess. I will look at that. You can still view it on YT though.

This is a setting on your YouTube video or account.

 

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[SquatchMan]

I wake up around 4:00AM or so. I've fallen off the wagon a bit, but no later than 8AM.

Normally go to bed from 8-9PM. Would go to bed earlier but my favorite food stall opens at 6PM and housekeeping cleans my room at 5PM (I live in a hotel).

Sleeping when the sun goes down is definitely the natural way to do things and works for the vast majority of people.

If you don't believe me, just go backpacking in the wilderness. No phone. No electronics. Way too dangerous to leave camp or really do anything. Especially if you can't get a fire started.

Everyone goes to sleep after sunset once they've been on the trail a day or two. There really isn't another option.

 

[Andy Black]

I wake up at 2. Gives me time to produce videos, work on client copy, meditate, for several hours before anyone else wakes up. Also time to check if there's anything new worth reading on the forum. 5 am is too late for me. It would feel like half the day was wasted.

Wait, what? I’m going to bed not long before you wake up!! I hit the hay just after midnight and get up at 6:30 ish.

Dayum... bed at 8pm? Don’t think I’ve ever done that.

 

[GuitarManDan]

I’ve definitely noticed I’m so much more mentally sharp and focused when I wake up early but I struggle to fall asleep early (especially now that I’m on my own schedule with my business).

Any tips for those like myself who have a lot of trouble ever falling asleep before midnight or so?

Before I quit my job in corporate America around a year and a half ago I had big problems with stress-induced insomnia (which has completely gone away once I left my miserable office job) so I’ve been enjoying the later schedule these days but I’m sure it’s hurting my productivity.

 

[WJK]

Hi all,

So I recently tried to change my habits and wake up at 5am while going to bed much earlier in the evening. I used my morning time to work on my project, organise my day and thoughts and work out. Results have been good although there are some drawbacks I address in my video.

Are some of you guys doing the same, what is your experience and observations about this?

View: https://youtu.be/5fX1uNEjpWw

I get up at 6 AM and do my paperwork. It's quiet and no one calls or bothers me.

 

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[timmy]

Yes it makes total sense and I kind of do that saying that I have history of cholesterol so I have to be careful with food and alcohol to avoid drinking too much when going out as it kills my productivity the next day. It is true, I do have high cholesterol, even with a 12% body/fat ratio, however, not as high as I mention to my close. So I know this feeling too... Happy to see I am not the only one...

...

Anyone that aspires to being a high functioning individual will generally be aware of the enrichment available from an early start. One will obviously need be comfortable working alone, have a clear pathway established and chip away at it.
High up on the chart is ...the optimum use of time. The first 3 hrs uninterrupted equates to maybe 6 average sloppy hrs. Nobody can steal those hrs. from me. The masterplan needs to be finished. The only unknown is the length of time it will take. Everything else is math.To do this one has to sleep well & eat healthy, and love themselves first. Sacrifices will need to be made to create generational wealth. ....

Yes ... I have the Dan Peña mindset.

 

[GuestUser4aMPs1]

All joking aside, waking up early has changed only one thing, and that's my attitude about the day. If I wake up early, then I have chosen to wake up. I've chosen life. I've chosen to face whatever may be waiting for me. I've chosen to get my a$$ to work.

Also the time doesn't matter, the point is waking up several hours before your first 'obligation'. Most people wake up like 30 minutes before they go to work or have their first call. That means you're waking up for someone else.

Think 'pay yourself first', but with time. You, like me, might owe time to someone else. But when you wake up early, the time you take from the morning is 100% yours, tax-free. Isn't that powerful?

This is a very compelling reason to do it; thanks for sharing.

I've always said that it's nice having woken up at 5am for those reasons.

...Just not the actual waking. Ugh. Painful.

 

[EnvisionEd]

Pretty nice discussion.

Anyway I don't think that the hour you wake up is important but the way you start your morning. If you are hitting "snooze" you are gonna be tired for the first half of a day. If the first thing you do after opening your eyes is checking fb, Instagram... you are getting high level of dopamine and being less productive throughout the day. I've been doing this and now when I am changing my habits I can see the difference.

Somebody mentioned here making your bed. It's awesome idea because you start your day with small win and getting more productive later on (works on me tho).

People think that if they change 1% of they life and start doing what rich people do it will make them rich. Yea, sure it's a beginning but that's not enough. Just because one guy is going to toilet at 9pm daily doesn't mean it's his secret souce for being rich. I've seen a lot of YouTube videos like "This one thing will make you rich" and bang it's affirmations.

I like the aura of silence on 5pm but I hate waking up this early. Anyway I feel good with 7-8 am.

Have you read Admiral McRaven's book "Make your Bed"? Fantastic little read about starting your day off with a success. Personally, I am a military man, and believe the discipline and structure they taught me at the Academy have helped me to this day.

 

[Longinus]

Used to wake up at 5 AM for years. Worked great when I still had a job. Now that I have more free time, it's no longer necessary. With 10 trainings/week, I feel my body needs a lot more sleep.

It also depends from person to person if waking up early is good or bad for you. You can find it out here: https://thepowerofwhenquiz.com/ (I'm a wolf.)

 

[raad182]

If you have a busy 9-5 schedule, this is really worthy.
You end up having more time to get ready for the day and all those benefits that we all know but if you haven't a tight schedule I don't see much benefits from it.
One of the problem is that you start to live a kinda of alternative lifestyle, while all your friends are going out at night, you just feel like you can't relate to that anymore, when they are warming up for the night, your internal clock says that its time to go to bed and its hard to turn it off at the weekends or holidays so you start to discover new people, new places and new habits...Its a totally different lifestyle but way healthier for you wallet and body.
But more important than waking up early is getting enough sleep.

 

[Bekit]

I'm personally more interested in less sleep overall. Imagine only needing 4 hours of sleep instead of 8, that's life changing.
I believe it's achievable, but I haven't succeeded yet.

You might want to check this out. It's a deep look at someone who tried to need less sleep. The accompanying discussion on self-discipline is interesting.
If Self-Discipline Feels Difficult, Then You're Doing It Wrong

 

[rynor]

I was actually thinking of starting a similar post, glad I searched beforehand haha.

I read the 5AM Club and have been waking up at 5AM ever since. I also use a modified version of Robin's 20/20/20 method. For the first hour (victory hour), I do the following:

• 5:00 AM - 5:20 AM - Stretch & light movement
• 5:20 AM - 5:40 AM - Set goals for the day
• 5:40 AM - 6:00 AM - Read

 

[rynor]

That's a great start of the day! How many extra hours do you get before work by waking up at 5am?

I start my workday at 9am, so 4 hours. I also forgot to mention... no digital devices the entire first hour of the day as well.

 

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[guaava23]

If you can manage to sleep around 7-8 hours and you need that space of time to get things done (business, exercise, meditation wise) sure go for it. But if you are getting less than that time to sleep and you feel you have nothing productive to do I would recommend just waking up a bit later.

It’s all relative. I more energetic in the morning than late. After work I don’t feel like doing much and I just waste time. If you are better working at night, go for it. Waking up early for me works, because it’s quiet, no work calls or emails need to be answered for 4 hours, and I can pre-pave my day for success.

Several successful writers said they had a set time every day that they just sat and wrote no matter what every day. That worked for them and got them more disciplined. I feel that it’s the same way for me waking up early.

 

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[redshift]

I've noticed huge improvements in my personal life, health, energy and confidence levels as well since starting this. I always used to be a night owl but this has easily been the single biggest improvement I've made in my life.

As Hal mentioned in the "Miracle Morning", the 1st 20-30 days are super hard (especially the 1st 10), but once you get there, it's hard to imagine any other way of life and it just feels natural. I dont even have an alarm now and just use Alexa to turn on the lights to wake me up (and a gentle nudge 5 minutes in followed by a slightly louder "heavy metal" one in 10 haha, but it rarely comes to that).

For my routine I wake up ~5 and exercise / work out for 30 minutes followed by reading and meditation for another 30 before getting down to business for ~3 hours

Weekends are definitely the best part of this routine which keeps me much more focused and motivated to be bold and earn my freedom. This started as a way to earn more time in the day around work hours but I definitely plan to continue this when I go full time with my own ventures.

 

[Guest921Y]

Edited


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