The bestselling book the Miracle Morning, motivated thousands of people to wake up earlier and get more done. The argument is that waking up early and preferably by 5am, is the best way to improve your life. But is it really true?
Why should you get up early?
I looked into a lot of bloggers to see if the 5 a.m. wake up is really a good deal. The ones that liked the idea, all said it had the following benefits:
- Helps build discipline. More than one blogger said getting up at 5 a.m. is a tough task. If you can manage it, you’re building up self-discipline.
- You get better sleep. A sleep schedule usually goes hand in hand with getting up early. The routine helps you prepare your body for a better night’s sleep.
- Literal quiet time. You’re getting stuff done while everyone else is sleeping. That means there’s no one awake to bother you. You’re more productive.
- Better for your mental health. Some bloggers say the way you start your day ends up being a sign of how the rest of your day will go. When you’re focused and productive, the rest of the day seems to fall into place.
How do you train yourself to get up early?
Saying you’re going to get up at 5 a.m. is one thing, actually getting up that early is another. So how do you do it? Here are some tips from people who have actually done it.
- Set a routine. When you set a routine, your body is trained to know what’s going to happen. If you do the same thing every night, your body will adapt and getting up early will start to get easier.
- Start your wind down early, that way you’re ready to go to sleep when you’re supposed to.
- Do some chores like the dishes or ironing the night before so when you wake up in the morning, you’re ready to be productive.
- Don’t hit the snooze button in the morning.
Need ideas? Here are 9 Routines for Better Sleep.
How to Wake Up Earlier and Get More Done
If you still don’t believe a 5 a.m. wake-up can benefit you, don’t take it from me, take it from these 9 bloggers.
Jessica Lawlor
Jessica says she gets to pursue her side passions when she wakes up early. She blogs, she works out, and she enjoys the quiet. Jessica’s tip for getting up early, treat yourself with a DVR show before you start work.
Making Momentum
Scott of Making Momentum says getting up early has changed every aspect of his life. Scott says his health, mind, finances, mood, career, and relationships have all seen positive impacts since he started getting up early.
The Journal Blog
Kristiyan Bogdanov says waking up at 5 a.m. gives him a fresh start to the day and he’s amazingly productive in those first few hours of the day. More than that, he’s actually more energized than he was as a night owl.
Ravi Raman
Ravi Raman says waking up early has made him more productive and healthier. He says he’s able to blog more and his body has adapted to a healthier diet. Ravi says the only downside is guilt. He feels guilty when he hits mid-afternoon and he’s done everything he needs to do for the day.
Mr. 1500 Days
Mr. 1500 Days says he’s found a number of benefits since he switched the 5 a.m. wake-up, including a better relationship with his wife. She’s already on the 5 a.m. plan, so now they go to bed at the same time and fall asleep together. Like other bloggers, Mr. 1500 says he’s also blogging more frequently since changing his wake-up time.
Jessica Rice
Photographer Jessica Rice says she started to wake up at 5 a.m. to feel freer. Jessica’s a working mom who wanted the early mornings for meditating and exercising. The results have actually made her feel better, healthier, and cherish the time with her toddler more.
Location Rebel
Sean of Location Rebel found that when he started waking up early he was able to get going on all those business projects he had been putting off. He was also able to amp up his blog writing and get in a round of golf before a 10 a.m. meeting. A little work and a little fun converted him into an early wake-up proponent.
Let’s Reach Success
Lidiya of Let’s Reach Success says waking up early has offered her a number of benefits including a more productive morning, and laser-sharp focus on the tasks at hand. She also says there’s the added bonus of me time.
The Art of Simple
Kat of The Art of Simple has an interesting take on the 5 a.m. wake up. She says she gets up early because she’s waking up for her life not to her life. The early wake up gives her the opportunity for personal inflection and introspection before the everyday life as a mother of three kicks in.
What do you think? Is the Miracle Morning true?
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5 am is a little late. My wife and I have been getting up earlier than that for our five and eight mile runs for over a decade. Even though we are both early retired I was up at 4:40am today (Saturday) to run, my wife skipped today because she had to drive two hours to get to a tennis tournament she is playing in. I’m not sure there are any benefits to the early schedule other than it gets the icky stuff (running) out of the way so the rest of the day almost has to be better by comparison!
Another blogger here who gets up about 5AM every morning. But I also have a kid who wakes up by 6 or 7 am so while it’s definitely helpful, it’s not quite hours of free time 😉
I am an avid 4:45am waker-uper.
Starts with a little reading, gratitude, and then to the gym. I can’t even begin to image what life would be like without that routine. It has become so ingrained and such a part of my daily productivity that I’d be lost without it… seriously lost!
Its been tough though because I am not a natural morning person. But in time routine becomes habit and habit becomes normal. And normal is hard to change!
Waking up early has changed my entire life. I get lots of time free and am able to manage my time very efficiently. You wrote really great information and i myself have experienced these points.
Here is a product that help me out:
https://amzn.to/312UO2A
Instead of waking you up with a loud noise, the Philips wake-up light mimics the sunrise to gradually and wakes you up as the light increases. Reviewers claim that they quickly “noticed a difference in [their] energy levels and mood” throughout the day.