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The 5am Club - Worth it?

5am Club: Is it worth it?

  • Yes

  • No


Results are only viewable after voting.

Kak

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I wake up about 7-7:30... Naturally. I usually get a full 8 hours.

I don't need to be up at 5. I don't need to sleep 2 hours a night. I don't need to squeeze 30 hours into a day. I don't need an alarm clock.

For those of you that DO wake up at 4-5 am and CRUSH "IT" a billion hours a week... I have a question for you: What is work?
 
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Shirkahn

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5am definitely works for me as it’s the only time alone I get to work on myself and be alone.

5am up and out of bed
Excercise
Meditate
Journal
Read my life board
And educate (forum, YouTube, Blinkist, audible)
Get ready for work and the kids ready for school.
Leave house at 7am

Now to explain why I need the time for myself, here is the rest of my day.

Drop kids at school
8 to 17 work work work if I am lucky I take a brief lunch break
17:30 fetch kids from school
Spend time with kids at home
Cook dinner for family
20:00 family dinner
Kids to bed
Spend time with my wife
And finally try to watch a TV episode in bed (I never finish the episode)

So yes, the 5 am club works for me.
 

EnvisionEd

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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
Personally, I am a night owl. With that said, I actually started going to bed a little earlier and have been waking up at 5AM to go workout and then head to work. It has been a great way to start off my day. As I always say, to each their own on this one. Best of luck with things.
 

HackVenture

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I usually sleep at 1-2am and get up at 8 am.

I've tried to be an early bird a few times before but I wake up feeling like shit and it feels like I'm throwing away the last few midnight hours during which I'm at my best.

So I decided that I'm just a night owl until something moves me to try again.
 
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Apo

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...

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.
Well put and very true. I need to read more about Dan Pena then! Thanks
 

WealthyMarketer

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I did the miracle morning for a while. I just noticed that I was more tired than usual as the day progressed.
 

Apo

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5am club is lame.

Join the 4am club.

...

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?
It is what I feel too when waking up at 5am. I have extra motivation because I wake for myself and to work on something more exciting than my 9 to 5. It makes it easier. Motivation + no disruption for couple of hours means extra productivity for me.
 
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Apo

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Some days I have to get up at 7am, other days, I sleep until noon.

Doesn't matter when you wake up, just wake up.

Some projects are gonna take days, that's just life.

I personally hate limiting myself to a sleep schedule sometimes, but it is the healthier way to go.
I guess it also depends on your obligations. Not everyone can wake up whenever they want if they still have a 9to5 or have a family or business partners etc..
So "creating" this time when you think you are the most productive is important and the benefit of the early morning in my opinion is that no one will interrupt you and your brain is fresh and did not go through a whole day already. Now clearly this poll result show that everybody is different! :)
 

Sprocket

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Best time of the day! Quiet, still, time to think.

I really think it’s down to your own body and biological rhythm though - early bird or night owl... what works for you?
 

RazorCut

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How to fall asleep before midnight:
- quit your screens at least one hour before your desired bed time, replace that by a book

Ha’, the times I’ve read in bed and am so tired I’m having to read with one eye because I can’t keep both open at the same time.

Though it needs to be an exceptional book to force me to stay awake that long. :somber:
 
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Apo

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Ha’, the times I’ve read in bed and am so tired I’m having to read with one eye because I can’t keep both open at the same time.

Though it needs to be an exceptional book to force me to stay awake that long. :somber:
Perfect it means it is working if the objective is to help you sleeping faster. It is the same for me, it has to be a book I am LOVE but then it is the opposite effect, I could read through the night...
 

Apo

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I wake up about 7-7:30... Naturally. I usually get a full 8 hours.

I don't need to be up at 5. I don't need to sleep 2 hours a night. I don't need to squeeze 30 hours into a day. I don't need an alarm clock.

For those of you that DO wake up at 4-5 am and CRUSH "IT" a billion hours a week... I have a question for you: What is work?
In my case, considering I still have my 9to5 I have to find a time where I can be focused and 100% productive without any interruption or distraction. This time comes early morning when people around me are sleeping!
 

Apo

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Personally, I am a night owl. With that said, I actually started going to bed a little earlier and have been waking up at 5AM to go workout and then head to work. It has been a great way to start off my day. As I always say, to each their own on this one. Best of luck with things.
So it s funny because I do consider myself as a night owl but now find also great value in early wake up. As you said, to each their own. :)
 
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JAJT

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I wake up at 6am every day even though I don't actually have to be up until 7am.

Here's what I found:

- I don't journal
- I don't meditate
- I don't exercise
- I don't plan my day
- I don't do my most important work

I mean, those DO happen occasionally, especially when I'm really excited about something new or just on a general "high note" during the year for whatever reason, but it has never been consistent.

What HAS been consistent though is this:

- I'm alert and awake and ready before my responsibilities start
- I'm not scrambling to "beat the clock" on the morning countdown
- I get dedicated, quiet downtime that allows me to enjoy a coffee and wake up peacefully
- I can and actually do read. Really depends on where my "grogginess meter" is that morning though

So when I don't wake up early, I scramble and get pissed off and irritated easily and feel under a crashing wave to get everything done on time.

When I do wake up early I'm 100% on the ball when "go time" happens.

It's the difference between hearing an alarm clock and treating it like a starting shot to a race, and being told that a race is starting in an hour. It's the same race but being on your marks and set before that shot goes off is so crucial to my well-being.
 

Smuggo

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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.
 

Kruiser

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Whether getting up at 5am is good can depend, at least in part, on your natural chronotype (which possibly has a genetic source). Some people's bodies feel best getting up at 5. Some people's bodies feel best getting up at 8. If you have a body that naturally feels best getting up at 8, but you force yourself to get up at 5, it will most likely be counterproductive. (I didn't read the whole thread, so I hope I'm not just repeating what other folks have already said.)
 
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EnvisionEd

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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.
 

Apo

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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.
Adding that to my to read list! Yes I can imagine military discipline is definitely going into this direction of time efficiency and successful routine. Thanks for sharing the book reference! :)
 

BlokeInProgress

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The literal meaning of Make your bed I think is a form of discipline training. It sets up your mind to accomplish a goal the moment you wake up.

Thats why its one good practice to teach kids. :)

For me, waking up early resonates with me, I like the feeling of seeing the sunrise...gets me pumped up to do lots of my exercise and morning ritual.
 
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Longinus

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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

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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.
 

Apo

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Whether getting up at 5am is good can depend, at least in part, on your natural chronotype (which possibly has a genetic source). Some people's bodies feel best getting up at 5. Some people's bodies feel best getting up at 8. If you have a body that naturally feels best getting up at 8, but you force yourself to get up at 5, it will most likely be counterproductive. (I didn't read the whole thread, so I hope I'm not just repeating what other folks have already said.)
Oh wow ok did not think of that at all. Do you have any link or read you would recommend on the natural chronotype and its impact? I would be interested in reading more about it. Thanks Kruiser
 
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srodrigo

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It completely depends on what are your obligations during the day. If you have a 9-5 day job, then it might be worth getting up early to work on your stuff. But everyone is a different world, so it depends, you can also do that in the evening and go to bed later.

For people who work full-time on their business, same thing. There might be clients that need them to be available at certain hours. Or maybe that's not the case and you have total flexibility to work when you are most productive.

Regardless of the situation, the only thing I'd say is not to cut on sleep. If someone is productive getting up at 2 am and going to bed early, that's fine (although I'm not sure that's how our brains are wired up, but that's a different topic). But getting up early for the sake of getting up early, neglecting sleep and health, is a terrible idea. At the end, leaving human biological day/night theory aside, you have the same amount of hours no matter when you use them.

I personally don't like this "get up early" trend, not only because it sounds like "we are the heroes!" but because I think finding your most productive hours and making the most of them is the real improvement, not when you do it. 16 awake hours are 16 awake hours regardless whether they start at 2 am or at 2 pm. Also, we live in society, which makes certain time schedules, at least, difficult to fit. I've even got different schedules in different countries, to fit a bit more into what most people do. I can't go to bed here at 9 pm if I want to share dinner with my family. Also, some people feel motivated/productive when they see natural light (me), whereas others like night hours and silence; fighting against that to "join the X am club" is, to me, pointless.
 

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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.
 

Apo

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The literal meaning of Make your bed I think is a form of discipline training. It sets up your mind to accomplish a goal the moment you wake up.

Thats why its one good practice to teach kids. :)

For me, waking up early resonates with me, I like the feeling of seeing the sunrise...gets me pumped up to do lots of my exercise and morning ritual.
Said this way, it makes total sense for the kids now... Ah! Gosh my mom was right all along!!!
 
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Apo

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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.)
Thanks for the link I am going to check that :)
 

Apo

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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.
I concur on the sleep and it's true that early wake ups suits better a 9-5 schedule!
 

Welder1986

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I get up around 5:15, get my workout and a good meal in, read for a half hour or so and sit and chill for a short time and be grateful for everything. I feel like you have to take everything in once in a while or even daily if possible. You are never guaranteed tomorrow. Also make the bed every morning! Becomes habit/routine rather quickly.
 
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Apo

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I get up around 5:15, get my workout and a good meal in, read for a half hour or so and sit and chill for a short time and be grateful for everything. I feel like you have to take everything in once in a while or even daily if possible. You are never guaranteed tomorrow. Also make the bed every morning! Becomes habit/routine rather quickly.
Haha I think I will create another poll asking who make their bed in the morning. Quite a few people talked about it here. Thank you for your message :) I have a similar routine now and can see the added value.
 

YoungPadawan

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I wake up at 4:00 -4:30am, but I go to bed at 7:30-8pm. I like this sleep schedule, because the evenings are kind of a waste of time, plus I eat junk food because I'm bored during the evenings, so to prevent that, I go to bed early.

It seems like I'm super productive in the morning too, because it's quiet and no one is awake. It's peaceful just drinking coffee and planning my day/working on current projects.
 

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