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Are there really any benefits of being a morning person and waking up early?
And is it even possible to feel motivated and energized when waking up at a crazy hour like 5 am?
The answer to both of these questions is YES!
In this article, I’m going to show you exactly WHY and HOW you can become a morning person.
Not only that but also how you can feel motivated and energized for the entire day when waking up early.
Let’s get started.
How I became a morning person
Before I became a morning person, I could easily and without much forethought spend a lot of time in the late evenings.
It could be in front of study books, binge-watching Scrubs in front of the TV, or hanging out with friends until it was more morning than night.
What I didn’t realize at the time was that those late evenings actually made me less productive, less energized, and weaker in both body and mind.
After high school, I traveled abroad to China and during that trip, I consistently woke up early for 5 months, between 5-6 am every day without much deviation.
The first few days were tough, but already one week later I was feeling really good.
After only a few weeks, I felt more energized than I ever had before.
My body felt refreshed, I actually felt awake when I woke up, and I felt more joy and happiness than I had in a long time.
It wasn’t the only new habit that I implemented, I did start with cold showers and journaling as well which were also habits that had a big impact on my overall well being.
But I knew quickly that waking up early would be one of the habits that would stick with me for my entire life.
Of course, sometimes it’s hard to wake up early as some things in life happen in the evenings. But since that trip, I have continued to wake up early almost every day, and the benefits have been incredible.
Why wake up early?
One thing I can say for sure, waking up early is a game-changing habit.
It sets one up for the day and it makes time for the most joyous and amazing moments.
There are few things as wonderful as seeing a beautiful sunrise or going out for a short run in the fresh morning air.
My favorite author and role model Robin Sharma is one of many firm believers that waking up at 5 am is the king of good habits. He even wrote an incredible book about it called “The 5 AM Club” which I highly recommend.
This book outlines the tactics and methods by which you can successfully wake up as early as 5 am in the morning. Not only that but also have a spectacular morning routine.
I hope that by the end of this article, you will have convinced yourself that waking up at 5 am might be something you should try.
Even better, you might even feel inspired to try making it into a daily habit!
… But before we go that far, let us start with the basics.
First I want to share my 5 favorite reasons to wake up at 5 am to try and give you some insight into why you should wake up early.
After that, I will share 5 tips to successfully join the 5 am club with minimal effort.
Now maybe you are thinking to yourself “Actually I don’t want to wake up at a crazy hour like 5 am, I was thinking maybe more like 7 am…”
… And that’s totally fine! Use these tips to help you wake up at your desired time.
Independent of when you would like to wake up, for this article I will use 5 am as the ultimate example of waking up early.
Also, if you would like to watch the video version of this article, check it out down below!
1. You get more time
I think the more one comes to develop a habit of waking up early, the more one realizes it is more of a lifestyle than a habit.
At the end of the day, it is also a lot about priorities, and when people make time for the most important activities.
For example, if we take someone who wakes up at 5 am, and compare it to someone who wakes up at 8 am, the habits most likely look a bit different.
In the first case the person would go to bed at around 9 pm, and in the second case maybe around midnight. The difference I believe starts with those last three hours, between 9-12 pm.
Maybe many people are at their productive peak during those hours, but there is also a higher risk of developing bad habits during the last three hours of the day since one’s willpower is usually depleted during that time.
That is why waking up early is a game-changing habit.
You wake up with a refueled battery and can turn those three not so fresh hours in the late evening to three highly productive hours for meaningful output in the early morning, and pursue activities such as:
- Exercising
- Working on a side hustle
- Eating a healthy and well-prepared breakfast
- Listen to a guided morning visualization
- Pray/Do gratitude practice
- Pursue a hobby
… All even before going to work, school, or university, which is INCREDIBLE.
Imagine having two to three undisturbed and peaceful hours to do whatever you want before the obligations of life come your way.
When I wake up at 5 am, not only do I feel disciplined that I’m awake at a crazy early hour, but I have so much time for myself where I can do whatever I want.
Make your well-being a priority and give yourself time to do what you want during the blissful hours of the early morning.
When you develop a habit of waking up early, you create more meaningful time for yourself which will make you a better person for other people during the rest of the day as well.
Wake up early to build yourself up so you can become a better person for yourself and others!
2. It’s your body’s natural state
I’m a firm believer that humans are by default natural early risers, and that the rise in technology has affected our sleep and turned us into night owls.
According to The National Sleep Foundation, one of the ways that technology affects our sleep is through the bright blue light emitted from the screens.
This light suppresses the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. This suppression makes it harder to fall asleep and harder to get to deep sleep.
Also, since you are going to bed later, you are naturally waking up later, and thereby the negative cycle has started.
Many people say that they can’t go to bed early, but truth be told anyone can go to bed early if they really wanted to and also if they implement the right habits!
Think of it like this, going to bed late and waking up late is like self-induced jet lag.
And you can easily cure your jet lag using a few simple steps like eating earlier, waking up earlier, and avoiding technology late in the evening.
Do all of these things, and have a stable routine where you wake up the same time every day, and trust me that despite your previous efforts you will naturally be able to fall asleep quicker and earlier.
Setting a waking time the same time every morning, and sticking to it without snoozing, is also amazing for your body’s rhythms to naturally flow, giving you lots of energy.
When I have a stable routine of waking up early I not only wake up feeling energized, but I can usually also fall asleep within 10 minutes of going to bed in the evening.
How to reset your sleep schedule
If you feel that you can’t wake up early because you have late habits at the weekend, then check out this article that will teach you how to reset your sleep schedule so you can still wake up early despite your late habits during the weekend.
I personally used these tactics to reset my sleep schedule recently from waking up at 10 am from a late evening to waking up at 6 am two days later. Of course, I was still a bit tired but I managed to make it work.
Help yourself reset your body to your natural sleep to feel better, get more done, and experience a better life!
3. You get peace and quiet
Many people love their alone time, yet feel they don’t have enough of that time.
One of my favorite aspects of waking up early is that it is the perfect time to be alone.
I use this alone time to for example go out exercising in nature, journal and pray/do a visualization. After I have had this time, I feel more at peace knowing that I have prioritized my well being.
During the peaceful and tranquil hours of the early morning, you have solitude.
With solitude comes the opportunity to reflect on the higher cause for your life and to rediscover your true nature and power. You get time to reflect, to strengthen your spirit, and make yourself unstoppable.
Love yourself enough to make time for yourself during the finest hours of dawn.
When you have had that time for yourself, you will naturally and more happily be inclined to give others your time.
4. No need to rush
Do you feel like your mornings are always a rush to get to class/work? Or do you maybe end up late because you’ve snoozed way too many times than you would like to admit?
Well, waking up two hours earlier than your normal time will make you feel like you are always ahead of schedule, giving you time to get ready for the day ahead.
Not only that, but it will also give you time to pursue your most important activities even before life’s obligations come your way.
Make the morning time your temple, a place where you don’t have to rush, you don’t have to worry, you just do exactly what you want to do.
5. You become disciplined
Without a doubt, the habit of waking up early has made me more disciplined in every way.
In fact, after having done it for a while, I cannot imagine myself not being a morning person.
The feeling of overcoming the challenge of waking up early, for example at 5 am, is incredibly rewarding.
In fact, my close friends would probably say that I can be a bit too proud of myself sometimes that I like to wake up at that time…
But since waking at 5 am is challenging, every time I do it it feels like I’m making myself stronger both physically and mentally.
Also, even though this will maybe provoke a few people, I do feel that waking up early gets me ahead of the majority since not many people are awake at 5 am.
Waking up early is a bulletproof way to beat your weaker disciplined self that wants to stay in bed!
5 tips to ACTUALLY succeed with waking up early
So now we’ve covered WHY you should wake up at 5 am, what about HOW to do it?
Here are 5 tips to easily wake up early and feel energized and motivated throughout the entire day!
1. Get enough sleep
This is probably the most important and sometimes the hardest part of starting a routine of waking up early.
Getting enough sleep is the only way you can truly make waking up early a sustainable and healthy habit in the long run.
Without enough sleep, the habit of waking up early will only backfire and will make you more tired, less productive, and less excited for the day.
Not only that but too little sleep is also seriously detrimental to your health and overall well-being!
Sometimes I’ve been so stubborn to continue waking up at 5 am when I’ve lost several hours of sleep for many nights in a row. It has always resulted in eventually feeling exhausted and burned out.
In order to make the habit of waking up early sustainable aim for at least 7 hours but preferably 8 hours of sleep.
The next thing you might be asking is “8 hours?? So if I want to wake up at 5 am that means I have to go to bed at 9 pm??”
Correct! If you are not willing to sacrifice the short term joy of going to bed late then you will never experience the long term joy that comes from waking up early.
It’s just a matter of choosing what is important to you and what you prioritize!
Now I know that most of you might not want to do that, so I will share what I personally do.
I try to go to bed sometime between 9-10 pm in the evening and then wake up sometime between 5-6 am in the morning. That means that I will either get 8 hours of sleep at best or 7 hours of sleep at worst.
If I get too little sleep, I’ll suck it up, have a coffee, and then take a power nap later in the day instead!
Getting too little sleep is a bulletproof way to fail with the habit of waking up early! That’s why it’s important to keep a balance, take care of your health, and get enough sleep!
Sometimes that also means sacrificing waking up early one day so you can get enough sleep and wake up early the next day.
2. Put your phone/alarm a distance away
So maybe you’ve had a good night’s sleep, or maybe you’ve slept too little. Independently, you want to avoid snoozing at all costs.
Snoozing is a bad habit and will frame your morning and the rest of the day a whole lot worse. Read more about what snoozing does to you in this article.
So how do you beat the snooze button? One of the best tactics is by putting your phone or alarm beyond arm’s reach from the bed.
That means you have to get out of bed and turn it off, which means you have already done the hard part, getting out of bed!
The trick here is to not let your mind fool you into coming back to bed, you have to quiet your reasoning mind by staying determined.
The easiest way to do this is to change spaces, by either going to the bathroom to do the first duty of the day or to another space like your living room or kitchen.
Get out of the room that wants you to go back to sleep!
If you find it hard not snoozing in the morning, check out our article here where we show you how to easily overcome the snooze button!
3. Plan a really fun activity first thing in the morning
Without something to look forward to doing in the early morning, I feel more tired, less excited, and sometimes I just feel like jumping right back in the sheets…
Having something to look forward to makes waking up early so much easier.
Plan one of your favorite activities to do first thing in the morning so you can wake up feeling excited for the incredible morning hours ahead.
These activities can be anything from:
- Playing an instrument
- Exercising
- Hiking
- Seeing the sunrise
- Reading your favorite book
- Pursuing a project
By planning your favorite activities first thing in the morning, and incorporating it into your morning routine, you will have a sure way of jolting out of bed feeling excited!
Bonus tip: Do it together with others
Inspire your friends to try waking up early, and plan a fun activity to do together!
Through connect groups on Facebook, you can find other like-minded people who also want to wake up early and do something inspiring. Depending on where you are based you can find these connect groups relatively easily.
The picture below shows André and I climbing in the early morning, together with friends!
4. Prepare a cup of your favorite morning drink
I don’t know about you, but personally, I feel that there is nothing like a nice cup of coffee to start the morning.
The smell of the fresh aromas and the taste of that first sip is enough to refuel oneself and get rid of early morning fatigue.
If you’re not a coffee addict like me, then a nice cup of tea will do just fine. Other quick energizers in the morning are cold showers, breathing exercises, and HIIT workout.
Bonus tip: Exercising first thing in the morning is also a sure way to kickstart the morning, get rid of the early morning fatigue, and feel energized during the rest of the day.
Disclaimer: We don’t recommend drinking coffee first thing in the morning as it may make you more tired later in the day, but we definitely recommend it as a reward after your morning routine, which is the perfect segway to the next tip…
5. Reward yourself for waking up early
After waking up early and pursuing your morning routine, make sure to reward yourself for doing something challenging.
Examples of rewards in the morning could be having a cup of coffee, watching an episode of your favorite series when eating breakfast, or reading your favorite book.
You can also reward yourself through an activity you like later in the day, for example going to the movies in the afternoon.
After waking up early and pursuing a morning routine I usually reward myself with a spectacular cup of coffee and working on Habithon!
The important point is that you should definitely find something that will motivate you to keep going with your routine.
Bonus tip: Have a morning routine
We’ve already mentioned this a few times in the article, but as a bonus, I would definitely encourage you to start a morning routine.
A morning routine is easily one of the best habits to implement to frame your morning and the rest of your day for success.
If waking up early is the cake, having a morning routine is the icing on the cake.
You want both to have the best-tasting cake!
By following a scheduled morning routine, where you have a list of activities to pursue, and develop a habit of doing them every day, you will have so many wins during the morning that will give you loads of joy going into the day.
But how do easily incorporate a morning routine? Well, one of the ways you can do it is by trying out our Free 7-Day Morning Routine Guide!
This guide will teach you which habits to implement into your morning routine for more joy, energy, and productivity for the rest of the day.
Check out the morning routine guide here to get started today!
How to stay committed
Remember this when starting out; the first few days when trying to incorporate the habit of waking up early are seriously painful, and that’s the point!
The first few days are meant to challenge you, to see how much you really want this, if you are willing to sacrifice the short-term pleasures for the long-term pleasures.
If you choose to, you will be rewarded with a new level of energy, a new sense of purpose, and a new undiscovered strength within you that will make you a superhuman.
Research states that it takes, on average, 66 days to form a new habit.
By sticking with it for 66 days you will not only NOT feel tired when waking up at 5 am, but I can also almost guarantee you will feel more energized than you’ve ever had before.
One of the best ways to incorporate new habits into your life is by tracking.
By tracking your progress you will see your efforts visualized which will motivate you to keep going and stick with it.
One of the best tools that we use to keep track of our habits is with the Vanaboard.
The Vanaboard is an incredibly sleek offline habit tracker that helps you to keep track of your habits and keeps you accountable to not give up on your goals.
It is built upon the science that it takes on average 66 days to form a new habit and also the fact that people accomplish A LOT more when you track your progress.
We love using the Vanaboard! It is so easy to use and makes habit implementation fun and enjoyable!
Also in a world filled with devices, it’s so nice to finally have an offline product to help us build better habits!
Our friends at Vanaboard want to give you guys a 10% discount so you can get started right away with achieving your habit goals.
Click here to get the Vanaboard at a 10% discounted price! (Discount already applied to the link).
And lastly…
One of the best feelings, as you develop this habit and stick with it, is that soon enough it will flow as naturally as brushing your teeth.
After having pursued this habit for a few years now, I can honestly say that I feel;
- More gratitude for the smallest experiences
- Better health
- More energy levels
- Better productivity
- Stronger in body and mind
- More focused
- More joyful and happy!
Or put simply… I feel better in every way!
Waking up early is a habit and lifestyle that will lead you to a happier and more productive life while transforming your priorities and turning you into your utmost potential.
If you choose to try out waking up at 5 am, I can easily say that the reward will be worth the effort every day.
And if you choose to not wake up at 5 am but earlier than you do now, I can definitely say you will see dramatic positive changes in your life!
I wish you the best of luck in your pursuit of becoming a morning person! Never forget the universal truth, “the early bird gets the worm” 😉
Your Buddy
Gustav
Gustav
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