In my most recent blog post, I covered the WHY of waking up early. If you missed it, you can read it here. In that post, I conveyed three material benefits of waking up early: 1) you control the day; 2) you “create” more time; 3) you optimize your productivity.
If these benefits appeal to you, your next question is probably, “How do I wake up early to realize more control, time, and productivity?”
As Forrest Gump says, “stupid is as stupid does.” He spent his entire life excelling in different activities, not by intellect or particular purpose, but because he immersed himself in all the opportunities presented to him. How did he excel? Simple – he made himself available for his opportunities. For instance, as he ran through the University of Alabama’s practice field, the football team’s coach observed Forrest’s running ability and provided him a scholarship to play for Alabama and attend the University. After completing University, Forrest was approached by a representative of the U.S. Army and became a decorated war hero in Vietnam.
Every opportunity Forrest engaged resulted in a consequent opportunity that propelled him to a life of continued excellence. This openness and adaptability suited him well. I’d like to modify Forrest’s statement and clarify that “simple is as simple does.” Forrest was simple, determined, and his actions displayed how his approach to life served him. Even without a clear purpose. Let’s think about you for a second – with a clear purpose on why waking up early is so vital, wouldn’t you naturally be more suited than Forrest to realize the results from your how of getting up early? Let’s keep the list simple, and the technique simple. After all, common sense is not commonly practiced. Simpler is normally better, and we can see simplicity play out in these three insights on how to wake up early:
1) Progressively go to bed earlier and wake up earlier.
Incremental change prevents burn out. Every week, work on getting up 5-10 minutes earlier than the prior week. You can match this incremental change with another change – get to sleep 5-10 minutes earlier than the prior week. The direct relationship between getting to bed earlier and waking up earlier facilitates your sleeping consistency and mitigates the volatility of transforming the conscious change into a subconscious habit. Commit yourself to progressively going to bed earlier and waking up earlier, and you can realize the benefits of early rising without the disruptive interruption of your rest/sleep schedule.
2) Get out of bed immediately upon waking.
Set your alarm to match your progressions in waking up earlier. To ensure that you reap the benefits of waking up early, you must NOT hit snooze (which undermines your goal to wake up progressively earlier and actually makes you groggier than waking immediately upon the alarm). To encourage you to rise out of bed upon waking, set your alarm (or phone) at a distance that requires you to leave your bed to turn off the noise. Additionally, make your bed once you turn the alarm off. Not only does making your bed signal the start to your day (by mentally cueing that you will not reenter the made bed), but it represents an accomplishment first thing in the morning. This accomplishment, like Forrest’s opportunities, builds into greater accomplishments throughout the day. And at the end of the day, even if your day was chaotic, you’ll always return home to a made bed, which signals neatness and further mitigates your feelings of chaos before you head to bed.
3) Establish an accountability system.
Misery loves company. Getting up early doesn’t have to be miserable when you establish an effective accountability system to keep you on track. Grab an accountability buddy whom you can influence to wake up early with you. At the very least, you can text your accountability buddy when you go to bed at night and right when you wake up every morning. If there’s a day you forget to text your accountability buddy (or text much later than usual), he/she can reach out to you and you both can have a conversation on why you failed to wake up early (if you have strong internal ownership, you can proactively call your accountability partner to initiate the conversation yourself!). Engaging another person in dialogue can identify any feelings or experiences you’re engaging that are throwing you off your goals and your discipline. Grow from these talks, make suitable adaptations, and execute your plan to wake up early by building a strong and encouraging support system around you.
The provided insights certainly are simple. To instill the habit of waking up earlier, one must progressively wake up earlier over time, get out of bed immediately upon waking, and establish an accountability system for additional discipline and support. While these tips are obvious at the surface, remember that common sense is not commonly practiced. What is simple isn’t always easy. However, as you form the habit of waking up early, the act of waking up early becomes easier and easier. Remember your WHY for waking up early, commit to your plan for waking up early, and evaluate the results of your lifestyle change. Make appropriate adjustments along the way as you discover what times and sleeping routines work optimally for you. As you execute the HOW, your WHY will reveal itself – in this case, you will fully realize more control, time, and productivity (your WHY) by progressively waking up earlier, avoiding the snooze, and implementing accountability (your HOW).
Now we’ve covered WHY waking up early is impactful for you and HOW you can wake up early to drive impact in your life. Time for you to adapt the provided insights and experience their value add for your vision and purpose!
If you currently do wake up early, leave a comment and convey how you’ve been able to turn it into a habit!
If you are working on waking up early, keep me updated with your progress and let me know how waking up early benefits you!
