Early to bed and early to rise, make you healthy, wealthy, and wise. We all have been taught this phrase as kids. Our parents and teachers would teach us that the key to becoming successful is to wake up early. Most kids would have this, rather forced routine of waking up early to go to school. I hated it and I remember thinking to myself, "If waking up early made you successful, then the milkman would be the most successful guy." After all, he used to wake up before anybody else to deliver milk in the morning. On weekends, I'd want to sleep as late as possible at night and subsequently, wake up as late as possible as well. My parents would wake up at the same time between 5 and 6 am every day, however, they would have mercy on me and allow me to sleep a little more on the weekends.
As we grow up and finish school, we can't wait to finally live life on our own terms. No more sleeping early and waking up early. I remember I used to tell myself, "I would sleep as long as I want. After all, successful people work till late and wake up late. Only old and boring people wake up early because they cannot sleep at night anyway." How wrong I was.
Having said that, I remember, I always woke up early morning to study for my exams in school. I loved the quietness and silence of the morning hours that helped me to focus better and complete my tasks. I loved that waking up early gave me a great head start for the day and I felt I accomplished a lot. But subconsciously, I'd think that I don't want to do this every day. This is not the life I want. This is boring. I want to be cool, like everyone else.
Society and peers teach us that cool people stay awake till late at night. Working, watching movies, mindlessly scrolling through your phone, etc. You could be doing anything except sleeping. And wake up late. Sleeping and waking up early is for boring, old people, or losers who don't have a life. "Get a life", your friends would say. I bought into this school of thought as well and started studying late at night in college. But my grades always took a beating. However, whenever I stuck to my morning routine and studied early morning, I'd flourish.
This is not to say that waking up early is the only way to go. Some people are really nocturnal. They achieve great things at night and just cannot focus in the morning. There is no right and wrong way. There is no cool and boring way!
I used to think that staying awake till late makes you macho. Until I got wiser and realized that waking up early is the real boss-level thing to do. Anyone can sleep late but it takes commitment and discipline to wake up early and crush your goals.
It's not easy. I wouldn't lie. It's hard to get out of the warmth and comfort of your blanket in the morning if you don't have to. It's an ACT of COURAGE. But this one act gives you so much power and confidence that you instantly feel a sense of accomplishment. You feel ready for the day ahead. You feel you are ready to conquer whatever lies ahead. You feel you are a doer and not a quitter. It's an amazing paradigm shift, a change in mindset, a rush of adrenaline, that gives you the courage to accomplish your goals for the day. Best of all, it gives you a sense of relief that you have a whole day ahead of you. You are not scrambling through your day running like a chicken just to get by because you slept till noon.
Arilene and I made this commitment to ourselves and started waking up at 4:30 in the morning. We started going to CrossFit at a local gym nearby and we couldn't be happier. We are elated that we made this change in our routine. Here are the top things we did to help us achieve our goals:-
Sleep early- The most important thing. Never compromise on your sleep. We all need a minimum of 7-8 hours of sleep to function at an optimal level. To enable us to wake up at 4:30 am, we decided to sleep around 8:30 and 9 pm. Even on weekends. No more late-night movies on weekends. It took us a few days to settle into this routine. We would sleep latest by 10 pm on weekends.
Have early dinner- We try to have our dinner by 7:30 pm to give us enough time to digest our food before sleep. We eat a light dinner comprising mostly salad and protein-rich food including lentils, beans, eggs, or meat, and one portion of rice or bread. We noticed that sleeping early does not give us late-night cravings. I used to munch on late-night snacks or eat a bowl of ice cream before sleep. But not anymore. This helps me to sleep better without feeling bloated.
Put an alarm- That's a no-brainer, right? Of course, you need to put an alarm. But a lot of people struggle to wake up even with the alarm. Most people would just snooze the alarm and go back to sleep. 5 more minutes, then I would wake up. And the next thing you know you wake up an hour late. What I do is put 2-3 alarms within 10 minutes of each before my desired time of waking up and keep my phone away from the bed. I'd snooze the 1st alarm but by the 2nd or 3rd alarm, I'd be forced to wake up.
Don't scroll through your phone- The key is to just get up from the bed and not scroll through your phone in the morning. Leave the bed right away and prepare your bed. Organizing the bed is what adults do. It gives a sense of achievement, a sense of pride that we are responsible adults who take care of ourselves.
Plan your day before sleep- This is the most important step. Plan your day before you go to sleep. Discover your why for waking up early. If you want to exercise, keep your shoes ready for the morning next to the bed so that when you wake up, you can see your shoes and feel accountable and motivated. If you want to study, keep your books ready on the study table next to the phone so that when you go to snooze the alarm again, you feel accountable and motivated by looking at the books. It's important to know your why that keeps you committed and disciplined. No excuses.
What to do by waking up early in the morning?
Exercise- As I mentioned earlier, we started going to CrossFit at 5:30 am and we love it. You can go to the gym, go for a run, or just go for a walk. It's a great start for the day ahead. That's one thing off your checklist. You don't need to push yourself to exercise after work when you get home. No more excuses for being tired after a long day at work. Moreover, exercising first thing in the morning is an incredible change in mindset. You feel an amazing rush of adrenaline. You feel you can conquer the world. No fear! The pump that you feel after the workout is icing on the cake.
Read- I love reading. Early morning is the best time to read and learn. There are no distractions. There is quiet and peace. It's a great time to focus and grasp and take action.
Write- I feel that my mind is at its creative best in the morning. There are tons of ideas and stories that you wish to share with the world. Put them down on a piece of paper (Or type them).
Plan your day ahead- Prepare all the things you want to do that day. Check emails, make phone calls, and have a healthy breakfast or a protein shake. The possibilities are endless.
They say it takes 21 days to build a habit and 90 days to make a lifestyle. Once you commit to a personal or professional goal, these tips will help you to build new habits and make a healthy lifestyle change. Arilene and I are committed to making it a lifestyle. I hope you are committed and disciplined as well. Motivation is short-term but discipline and commitment take you far and to greater heights. Good luck! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
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