Nothing helps to start a day on a productive note like waking up early can.
Rising early in the morning is worth the effort. Becoming an early riser will give you more time to achieve your goals.
Benefits of Rising Early
Here are 4 benefits to rising early:
1. Productivity. The world is a quiet place in the early morning. Many entrepreneurs use this time to get a head start on their day. They catch up on emails, plan their days, exercise or take care of things that tend to get overlooked during workdays. Richard Branson wakes up at 5:45 in the morning, even when holidaying on his private island – time is too precious to be wasted on long sleep.
2. Creativity. Many writers and artists are most creative in the morning. Waking up with a fresh mind helps to see things with clarity and prompts creatives to produce quality work. Also, being creative is much easier when everyone else is still deep asleep and distractions are minimized.
3. Tranquility. The extra time you gain during early mornings helps to declutter your day. Or you can use this time to chill and meditate. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz gets up at 4:30 every morning to walk his three dogs and is at work by 6AM. Many early risers use the early morning for contemplation. As a result, they’re more relaxed and alert during the day.
4. Fitness. If you’ve got no time for working out during the day, consider getting up early and having that 5-mile run you are longing for then. An early morning workout is part of the routine of many great entrepreneurs. Take Virgin America’s CEO David Cush – he wakes up at 4:15AM and hits the bike at the gym.
Now you know why it’s worth to start your day early.
Here are 5 tips to help you master early wakeups:
1. Go to bed earlier – if you plan to become an early riser, you can’t continue to have your late nights. Your body needs sleep. If you want to get up 1 hour earlier, go to sleep 1 hour earlier, too. Go to bed even if you’re not tired and you’ll soon find yourself adjusting to the new sleeping schedule.
2. Baby steps – if you’re used to waking up at 7:45 AM, don’t make a radical move and get up at 4:30AM the next morning. Take it easy and wake up just 15 minutes earlier each day. Doing that will allow your body to get used to the new rhythm.
3. Keep your alarm clock far away – you might need this extra motivation to get up, especially if you’re prone to hitting the snooze button. Having to physically get up to turn off the alarm will get you on your feet, and that’s the crucial step – all you need to do now is begin your day.
4. Establish a routine – develop a morning plan of action. Splash some cold water on your face – you’re guaranteed to shock your system into waking up. Start the coffee pot – a small dose of caffeine will boost your energy levels. Find out what works best for you and treat it as your little morning trick to trigger your body into knowing it’s time to *rise* to the occasion.
5. Make a healthy breakfast – now that you’ve got all this time, it would be a pity not to use it to prepare a nice breakfast for yourself. Make sure to help yourself to some fruit and drink a healthy smoothie or cocktail beside a coffee. This will help your body gain the energy to wake up and get down to the tasks for the day.
Rise Early to Increase Productivity
Cultivating the habit of rising early isn’t easy, but it can help you save extra time and manage your day better.
Once commitment and discipline become your daily companions, the benefits you get in exchange for early wake-ups will work wonders for your productivity and effective time management.
Question: What would it take for you to get up earlier every morning? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Waking up at 5 o clock means that we should go to bed at least at 22.00, which is a bit early for me.
To each their own — you can adjust your new waking time to your regular schedule and start rising earlier than normally. That doesn’t have to mean 5 o’clock! 🙂
Start getting up early and you will start feeling like going to bed at 10 pm or even earlier.
That’s another way to do it! Thanks for the tip, Cliff!
Hi, Thanks for your top-notch article. I want to add something with you. I think starting your day early improves your concentration. In addition to being able to focus on goals and task lists without being interrupted by family members or coworkers, getting up early means that by the time you get to work or school, you’ve had hours to properly acclimate yourself to the day. You’ll be more alert during peak hours as a result. Am I right?