Update on the “Extreme” Morning Experiment
April 18th, 2006 by Matt InglotLast month I attempted to start waking up at 3 in the morning every day. Two days later I decided 5am was more reasonable, and I have stuck with this routine for a month now (less a day or two). The results have been great and I am quite happy to keep going indefinitely. I’m writing this update to give some insight into my experiences with waking up early so that you can decide if it’s worth a shot.
Absolute #1 Advantage: Work is Getting Done!
By far the largest advantage of switching to this schedule has been the increased productivity. I gain more hours each day to get my absolute best and most creative work done when my energy is at its highest. This has resulted in tremendous work gains, and as an extra surprise it has made it possible to focus on dull commitments later in the day due to having already used up my “excess” energy.
#2 Advantage: Breakfast is a Reality
Waking up at 5 I rarely feel rushed, and I always find time to eat a good breakfast. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” is something I believe firmly now, instead of just accepting the fact but not reacting on it. The energy boost I gain allows me to work longer than before and I can actually feel more energetic. I still drink more coffee than I should, but now I do so mostly for the enjoyment and habit than for actually being tired. This means lowering my caffiene intake might be a goal for the future!
#3 Advantage: No Appointment is Too Early!
The idea of having to be somewhere at 8 or even earlier used to fill me with dread at spending the entire day groggy and tired. Now few sane people are up before me, so I have gained a great deal of flexiblity in my business schedule. Being able to meet with a client at 8 in the morning and know I’m prepared and at my highest energy is a great feeling.
Are Late Nights Out Possible?
Measuring the impact of a late night on the schedule proved to be difficult. I wake-up hours before any conceivable appointment, so sleeping in a few hours isn’t difficult. Considering the high productivity cost that sleep deprivation has, it’s very easy to justify doing this. The next night is trickier since I have to go to bed at my regular 9-9:30pm time and hope I fall asleep quickly. Having a physically tiring day is awesome for allowing this, and as always caffiene shouldn’t be drunk too late in the day.
Things get problematic if I stay up until 2 in the morning or longer. At this point I can either sleep in and re-adapt to the 5am routine over two days, or I can force myself to wake up at a semi-reasonable hour and accept that I won’t get much done that day. The former is preferable since less waking time is lost to being ineffective.
What About Sleeping In an Hour?
Regardless of wake-up time, anytime you sleep in you run the risks of making it tougher to wake-up at your normal time - unless you have a busy day and are physically exhausted enough to go to bed at the usual time. I have found this to be no different physically for 5am wake-ups, but it is very challenging mentally. Before all this started, I would never voluntarily wake-up before I felt ready too, so the only way I could miss out on sleep was an early morning appointment. Now I’m in a position of choosing to force myself out of bed. This is something that I will do if I have gotten close to at least 7 hours of sleep, since trying to fall asleep at my usual time is more trouble than its worth if I sleep in.
How Hard Was It to Pull Off?
The short answer is: not very. The second day wasn’t pleasant, but otherwise all it took was wanting to do this badly enough to force myself (a night owl) out of bed at 5. The rewards in return are great and well worth putting yourself through a bit of a challenge at the start.
One reader suggested taking a nap in the day in order to be able to pull a later night without ruining the schedule. This is something that I will need to experiment with as well.
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April 19th, 2006 at 7:01 pm
Hi, Matt. I’ve noticed the same things, waking at about 5 each morning. I’ve also noticed that I’m sleeping fewer hours per day than I was without a fixed wake-up time.
-TimK
July 2nd, 2006 at 2:25 pm
Matt. Just want to say thanks. I have been doing the 5am thing now for the past two weeks (despite being a night-owl, too). I think it was this article that convinced me to give it a try — or to try harder to give it a try. Now to tackle procrastination.
-Ryan
July 3rd, 2006 at 10:46 am
Tim & Ryan:
Glad to hear this schedule is working out for you. I’m still on it and after a weekend of vacation and staying up late I’m happy to say that I had no problem waking up at 5 this morning. In fact a side-effect was that over the weekend I woke up really early (6am one day, 8am the next) despite only getting 3 hours sleep that first day.
June 19th, 2007 at 2:04 am
Hi, My yoga teacher told us it is very important to wake up before the sunrises. Otherwise, she said you won’t really wake up until 10Am. She said it’s like a Hindu health tip- all the yogis do it. They say the reason is before the sun hits the horizon there is a kind of wake-up energy in the air. If you notice all of the animals are waking up at that time. After the sun rises it is low and heavy feeling in the sky until about 10 when it sort of seems to pick-up momentom and crest over into noon and of course then evening. She also said it’s important to go to bed before 10pm because otherwise you’ll pick up the second wind as the sun swings around the other side of the earth. It’s all relative to where you are on the earth of course. Well anyway it’s midnight and I obviously haven’t cured the night owl in myself.