I love sleep. There is nothing quite like laying in a warm bed on a cold morning. So needless to say, I really don’t like the idea of waking up early. I dread getting out of bed. But, it has nothing to do with my attitude towards the day. It is purely because I feel like I can never get enough of the comfort and warmth offered by my bed. Unfortunately, I am a morning person and I thrive on getting stuff done early in the day. I always have. I was the guy that scheduled all of his college courses for the morning hours. I was almost always done by noon and I never had a class that ended past three o’clock.
In my mind I only have so many hours in the day and I want to maximize my time. In college, I decided I could sit through my classes and get my homework done by the time everyone else was starting to get out of class between 3 and 5. That left me plenty of time to be on top of my work, but still able to go play some pick-up basketball or ultimate Frisbee in the afternoons. My evenings were then open for hanging out with whomever, being involved at my campus ministry, or working for a few hours if necessary.
Now my schedule is still pretty much the same. I get to work by 7AM and I work through lunch so that by the time my 8th hour rolls around at 3PM, I am basically done for the day. I can go home, work out, spend time with my wife and work on other projects.
But this is only possible because I bite the bullet and wake up early. On a bad day, I am out of bed by 6:20 and out the door by 6:40. On an ideal, perfect, wonderfully well-managed day, I will be up and out of bed by 5:30 or 5:45. When I wake up early, I have those extra 30 minutes to invest in something. Normally, I just sit and enjoy the quiet. Other times I read, pray, or mentally prepare for the day.
But, here is the truth.
I struggle to wake up before 6. I want to hit snooze a million times, but I know I am only prolonging the inevitable. And as painful as it is to wrench myself out of bed hours before the sun will rise, I know that those extra 30 minutes of peace and quiet will set the tone for my day, in the best way possible. I am more positive and upbeat, ready to conquer whatever the day has in store.
Benjamin Franklin said, “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
If you have never done it before, I encourage you to go to bed a little earlier tonight and wake up early tomorrow. Make it a goal to see the sunrise. You might even get to see something like this:
If you decide to try and wake up early, let me know how it goes by leaving a comment or tweeting at me!
You are spot on with this post, Daniel! There are so many benefits to waking up early. I don’t consider myself an early morning person, but I do my best to wake up early. It does something for me when I do. Great post!
I’m with you completely on this, Daniel. Great post. To fit everything in I have to make my day longer, and I just do things better in the morning than at night. My mind is clear first thing in the day and I feel accomplished. Thanks for the reminder of the why we do what we do.
Absolutely, and by the time the evening rolls around there are far too many things buzzing around in my mind for me to be as productive as the clear-minded early mornings!
I am with you on this one. Over the years I have found that waking up early is great for me for 2 reasons.
1st – Once I get that first coffee in and clear the fog, I am at my creative best early in the morning. My brain is free and clear and I can write amazingly clear, concise and well constructed stuff so much better and quicker this time of the day.
2nd – Me time. I love having a few minutes early in the morning watching the sun rise and enjoying the peace and quite before the chaos of the day sets in.
This has worked for me for years and I really think more people should try it.
You need to manage your time and priorities very well to be able to go to bed early 😉 Natalie
When I wake up early, I’m always surprised by how much I get done before the usually scheduled rest of my day. But really, the only way I can do that is if I get to bed early, which isn’t always easy for me. It’s not that I don’t have the discipline, it’s that I switch between being an early bird and a night owl. Some nights I’m up until 3AM getting some of my best work done of the week. Other days, I’m up with the sun and feeling ready to take on all of my projects. I guess I just have to go with the flow.
That’s a blessing and a curse Ryan! I am definitely a morning person only. After about 10:30 PM I shut down, but my wife THRIVES as a night person so I’m usually up later hanging out with her so my continuous struggle is staying up late to spend time with her, but waking up early to be active during my most productive hours.
Going with the flow is a good thing. Play off of your strengths! Thanks for reading Ryan!
Here’s my sunrise today! I love your work ethic and enthusiasm for mornings.
Jessica
I would like to wake up earlier more often but i work nights and get home late. So by the time I get home, have dinner, spend time with my wife, and unwind, its already 1 am or later. The Other day we woke up at 5:45 am to take our dog to the vet for surgery, My wife went to work, and I went home and found myself doing so much I loved it !