Want to be successful - get your butt up and out of bed

Want success - Get your butt out of bed!

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

— Benjamin Franklin

Here is another tactical blog. Let's get straight to it. I'm willing to bet that often times when it comes to self-improvement, one of the most common things you say to yourself is this: "I don't have enough time!". Yeah, I understand. You wake up around 6AM, get yourself ready so you get into work by 8AM. Go through an 8 hour work day. Get home by 6PM, dinner by 7PM, then you're ready for bed by 10PM. If you have kids, the hours stretch for longer. So you feel like you never have time to read a book, put the book into practice, or just do some self reflection. Sure there are weekends, but you spend most of them resting, doing chores, and catching up with friends. Oh, don't forget that about those awesome TV shows we have to watch. So all in all, life gets in the way and there's just not enough time. Don't forget, you also need a good solid 7 to 8 hours of sleep right.

But here is the truth! If you want to be successful, then you have to make time. There are only 24 hours in a day. That amount is fixed. But what you do with each of those hours is up to you. So the reality is this:

"If you want to be successful, get your lazy ass out of bed at 5AM!"

It's not easy, especially the first few days. But I promise you, after 3 days, it becomes an addictive habit. What I can also promise you is that just by waking up one hour earlier, you'll find that you are a lot more productive throughout the day, and "that time" that you don't have, will reappear. Get up before a sparrow's fart and you will look at your day in a completely different light. I've been doing it for the last two months and other than the few weeks where I was sick, waking up at 5AM has become my daily routine, even on weekends. Getting those few hours to myself before the rest of the house wakes up is so precious. It's the few hours that I have to myself before life takes over again. There is also something amazing about being up at 5AM when the rest of the world is still asleep. The peaceful quiet allows me to concentrate. Things that I read stay in my head longer, and I find that I'm able to apply it throughout the day.

I also feel more energetic throughout the day. This is counterintuitive given that I've woken up earlier, one would think I'd be more tired. But that's not the case. I'm hyper focussed. Not just on ticking tasks lists but there is a clarity of thought on what outcomes I want to achieve. 

So here's my formula for morning routine. I'm sharing this with you as a guide. You should adjust it to fit your own preferences because the best habit to adopt (or the best new diet) is one that you find easy to do.

• My alarm goes off at 5AM. It goes off again at 5:15AM. I set two alarms. Let's face it. I know my weaknesses and I plan around it. Make no mistake. This is the hardest step. It's so easy to hit snooze and just continue sleeping. You look out the window and it's still dark, and if it's winter, nothing quite beats staying in the warm bed. It took me multiple attempts to finally get out of bed at 5AM. The trick? Just throw off the blanket and sit up. Once you're over this step, the rest is easier to adopt.
• 5:15AM to 6AM. Exercise. You can do whatever exercise you want but nothing wakes you up more than to really move your limbs around and get your heat beat up. I use the 7 minute exercise app on my phone. I go three or four rounds. For me, just two minutes in and I'm fully awake. 
• 6AM to 6:15AM. Shower. Look, don't imagine it but a shower after a sweaty exercise session is mandatory. Some people sweat by having a cold shower for at least 5 minutes. The theory being that the shock of the cold water gets your entire body fired up and the natural chemicals up and running with benefits lasting the entire day. I tried it in summer and I agree it felt great. But I can't do it in winter. It's just too cold.
• 6:15AM to 7AM. Read, read, read. Keep the TV off. Keep the computer off. Don't watch/read the news because what you read/hear/watch will distract you like there's no tomorrow. Let's face it, the news channels these days are all designed to catch your attention. So read, read, read. Read whatever insightful book you have mind or watch TED Talks. Anything and everything that discusses ways and means to help you improve whatever weakness you want to work on. But don't just read and watch. Jot down the key points and read those points again. I promise you, you will find those points stick with you throughout the day. 
• 7AM to 7:15AM. Have a coffee and now you can allow yourself to watch some news. If you've followed the above, it's your reward for the hard work you've put in. 
• 7:30AM. Suited up and ready to face the day.

So there you have it. When you think about it, it's actually quite simple. Just a few steps to become more successful and make time for yourself. My tip, put all your focus into the first step. Getting up at 5AM is a massive barrier but only if you let it become a barrier. So give yourself all the advantage you can find to help you overcome this barrier. Set two alarms. Heck, set three alarms if you have to. Train your dog to jump on you when the alarm goes off. Then, like removing a bandaid, just throw off the blanket. Before you know, you'll be a 5AM warrior and have the precious few hours to do what you want to do.

Photo by Christopher Campbell on Unsplash