“Early to bed, Early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
Benjamin Franklin
As a child, you probably sulked when your mother told you to go to bed at an early hour so she’d have an easier time waking you up for school the next day. Ironically, as an adult after a tiring day, you relished nothing more than the chance to go to bed early. Beyond avoiding temper tantrums and dealing with a sleep-deprived child first thing in the morning, it turns out our mothers were on to something by making us start the day early.
The most productive people often tend to wake up early. Jack Dorsey, Cofounder of Twitter wakes up at 5:30am every morning and starts his day with a morning jog. Richard Branson, the Founder of Virgin airlines wakes up at 5:45am every morning and leaves the curtains open so he can rise with the sun. Mary Borra, the Chief Executive of GM may have taken it one step further. She arrives at the office every morning by 6am.
Why are these people so determined to have an early start to their days? There are a number of benefits to starting your day well before most people are awake:
You have more time to organise
When you wake up early, you have more time to take a look at your to-do list and mentally prepare yourself for the day ahead. You also have more time to partake in healthy habits such as early morning exercise, meditation and preparing a healthy breakfast. The early morning hours tend to be most free of distraction. They can be an ideal time to write or journal.
You have more energy
In order to wake up early each day, you have to make a commitment to getting the recommended 8 hours of sleep per day for an average adult. The only way to achieve this is by going to bed at a reasonable hour each day. When you get enough sleep, you wake up with more energy to face the tasks for the day. The other side of the coin is if you have too many late nights, your productivity starts to suffer due to fatigue and inability to focus.
You choose to
Productive people realise, in order to have the life they want, they will have to make choices that reinforce their commitment. They know that in order to achieve their goals, their mornings must set them up for success. They wake up in the morning because they choose to. They realise the massive boost just preparing for the day while others are still asleep can provide them.
Is your morning setting you up for success or are you consistently sleeping till noon? Does your morning routine support your goals? These are the questions for you to think about today.
