There’s no bigger cop out than telling someone that you don’t have time to exercise or do anything. You make time for what is important to you.
We often forget such a basic necessity of life when we’re working long days (combined with your no doubt stacked social calendar).
I used to suck at sleeping. I’d watch TV shows or movies on my laptop to the wee hours of the morning, only to regret it when the alarm blares in the my face shortly thereafter.
From there, I’d usually nuke the system with a ton of coffee through the day to mask my sleepiness, only to regret this decision upon trying to fall asleep the following night.
It lead to a cycle of caffeine fuelled unproductivity.
No messing around in the early AM
I realized that the secret to getting shit done is waking up early. It requires discipline, but the benefits are a many and it starts with setting up a sound sleep routine.
No one rises early just because. The most important thing is to link your wake-up to an event.
There’s no messing around in the morning, you need to fill those early hours with something worth getting up for. If my alarm is for 5:00, I know that I need to be out the door and running by 5:15. This works even better if you plan to meet someone this early.
The point is, you’ll never wake up early without an immediate purpose. This purpose motivates you to get out of bed when that alarm sounds. I use this time to run or go to the gym.
Your body is smart
No one likes the raccoon-eyed feeling, it’s not a good look either… That is why you need to gradually establish a routine for your sleep.
When I converted from night-time-waster to an early riser guy, I eased by way in by getting up 15 minutes earlier one week, then the next I added another 15 minutes.
Now I’m at the point where I spryly rise at 5:00. I realize this may not be considered early for some, but it works for my personal schedule and current life demands pretty well, so I’m going with it.
Keeping the body guessing is a crock of shit. The reality is that your body responds well to habit.
Consistently great sleep is about controlling your internal body clock. The beauty of this is you can adjust it by changing when you go to sleep and when you rise.
On weeknights, I start to wind my day down around 9:30. This means no technology: phone off with my alarm set and screens (tip: install f.lux on your computer) because they alter the natural release of melatonin.
I’ll unwind by stretching and some meditation, then I’ll get ready for bed and read for half an hour before catching some Z’s.
The unwinding period is crucial — if you’re like me and your mind races like crazy when you hit the sheets, unwinding helps your brain switch gears by consolidating your thoughts.
The time where you putz around during the evening is never productive. You’re too wrecked from the day to exercise or do any meaningful work — instead you’re watching TV.
Getting to sleep earlier converts this dead time to ultra productive morning time!
Adjustments are okay!
There’s nothing worse than making a bunch of hoopla out of nothing. Allow for serendipity with your sleep routine.
By this I mean you shouldn’t fret over missing a day where you’re out late socializing or working. Mentally write this off and move on.
It’s not like you’re a recovering drug addict and one slip-up screws three months of sobriety.
You’ll never achieve perfection with your sleep, but you can certainly approach it.
30 Days of productivity
With my incessant rambling, I offer you a challenge. Try a new sleep routine for 30 days.
Wake up one hour earlier for 30 days and see how you feel when the month is up. That’s 30 extra hours of productivity to play with.
Commit to winding down your day at the same time every weeknight. This means cutting your Game of Thrones marathon one episode early.
What you choose to do with this time is up to you. I use early mornings to exercise as it energizes me for the rest of my workday.
Bonus: It’s a cool feeling knowing that you are up hustling and have accomplished something while everyone else is sleeping.
You don’t necessarily have to go this route — you could use the time to pursue a hobby, learn to code, or meditate.
I realize that this approach may not be applicable to everyone. The goal is to provide a framework for those looking to get started waking up early.
With that, I ask for your input! When you do you get up? Are you more productive in the morning or the evening?
Photo credit: Theron Humphrey
Great post Connor.
I definitely share the same belief with you that while rising early can be (initially) challenging, the rewards to a full and productive day are huge. Having something you look forward to in the morning also is a game changer, and of course for everyone this is different. When I’m able to get up early enough (5AM) to enjoy a cup of coffee sit in a nice chair and read and write I know my day has started on the right foot.
Finally thanks for the great flux tip, love it! Look forward to catching up soon!
Cheers,
@TyrellMara
Ya flux is pretty cool eh! I do realize that 5:30 or 6 is not even that early compared to some of the really early risers out there. It works for me at the moment and I feel as though it is not something too extreme for the lay person to at least try and convert to if they want.
I love embracing the morning with a strong cup of coffee as well!
Great article Connor, nicely laid out.
There is no doubt that mornings are your most productive hours so any REALISTIC (many will fail) routine you can lay out to wake up early means a big win for you. As you mentioned, an event such as meeting a friend for a run is the ultimate way to do it – you’d be surprised how empathetic your brain is when your best buddy is waiting outside in the cold!
PS: Amen to the Bonus point.
Ya for sure the ultimate accountability for getting up is making plans to meet someone. When I was marathon training last year, I’d meet before work rain or shine, it was amazing that neither one of us missed a day because of this.
thanks for the comment!
Nice article but I beg to differ…
Personally, I sleep around midnight and wake up by 7am. I start slowly and my activity speeds up throughout the day. I workout every day after work by 6pm, this will allow my mind to unwind from all the daily troubles. Small dinner by 7pm and then I work again for an hour or so. By 9pm a good movie or PC time will also help unwind. And so on…
In my opinion, waking up by 5-6 am would make me lose that quality time I have between 9-12am.
Of course, to everyone his own preference but I never drank coffee, tea or any substance that keeps me alert. I also do not smoke!
Ya you make a good point about individual variations. It sounds like your circadian rhythm is naturally a bit later than mine. This is variable from what I’ve read in that some people peak earlier than others. For example, I’m usually too exhausted emotionally from the workday to go to the gym afterward. I’m naturally a bit more introverted, and being around people all day is extremely taxing, so thus I’m more productive in work, life, exercise before work.
But it’s interesting reading about the flip side. I do get a mid-afternoon lull where I’m a bit sleepy. Ideally I’d take a 20 minute nap, but since I’m such a terrible napper, I haven’t figured this one out yet. Thanks for chiming in!
Dude I’m all about the early rising. My issue is falling asleep at night, disconnecting from the world (social media), slowing my mind… etc. Gonna try your approach to the night this week!
Hope you’re doing well brotha.
Ya it’s tough disconnecting for sure. I set my alarm, then phone goes on silent and I won’t look at it until the morning. Hard to do at first, but discipline is a practised art.
I really wish I could do this, but I really struggle in the morning. The times I’ve been up early, I’ve always enjoyed it, but my rhythm is very late. I usually lift weights or run at 8 or 9pm and never have trouble sleeping afterward. I get wired and engaged in the evenings. Usually in bed by 11-12 and up at 7. I seem to get enough restful sleep but really struggle to get motivated early in the day. Good for you, I’m envious because it seems enjoyable, but some of us folks are just programmed differently I guess.
Ya there’s definitely evidence in some research that we vary in terms of peak hours of productivity. People have slightly different circadian rhythms, but there’s also some literature suggesting that you can change this over time. Not to say it works for everyone though. Thanks for the comment!
The idea of tying the early wake-up to an event… excellent. I do it but I never thought of it that way. Great insight.
Dawn
Thanks Dawn!
This was a good reminder. I actually did something similar last year (got up a bit earlier each week). I resolved to ‘not press snooze’ in the morning and somehow it worked – I was getting up early and getting things done. Then it all fell apart with ‘spring ahead’. After reading this post, I’m going to try again. Maybe I will try the ‘sleep in your running gear’ trick to get myself moving in the morning.
FYI, if you like f.lux, you should check out Philips Hue lights – I put them in my bedroom last year and had them set to slowly dim after a half-hour of reading. It helped to wind me down even more than reading alone. Plus, they are just awesome.
I’ll definitely checkout those lights for my bedroom. Also – the sleeping in your running gear almost seems a bit neurotic haha.
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Hey Connor, just started poking around your site! Didn’t realize you had a blog too! (alongside your social media). Great writing. This post in particular stuck out for me, as I have been trying to get in more training in the mornings, realizing much the same as you, the work day takes so much out of me. My evening training sessions were getting compromised. However, I am much like Bilal (commenter), bc I am a night owl. I work on projects late into the night, and often “get in the zone” so much better when I am at home, beer in hand, no one tapping you on the shoulder, and the whole night ahead of you. Most of my truly productive work happens after hours. This means early mornings are either not possible, or rare (not consistent). My partner is also a night owl, so if I switch my routine, it has implications on our home life too…lol. I have been getting in 2 AM workouts or so through the summer (natural daylight to wake up with helps too). I really agree with the accountability factor of meeting with someone to train. #YVRHillUp! I get it now… See you out there again soon…
Ya i definitely empathize Emma! Some people are naturally geared toward being more productive later in the day. The weird thing is i somehow think I gradually switched from night time productive to morning productive over the like 6 years. That is a longgggg time though and pretty crazy to think about.
Thanks for reading and see you on the hill