What time do you get up on Saturdays and Sundays? Why your weekends? Well, that is because I wanted you to know what time you get up on your own when you have a choice to sleep more.
Those who know me know that I am an early riser (if not super early.) I go to bed after midnight and I am up around 6 AM (working to notch it up to 5 AM,) every single day. Not because I hate sleeping, but because I believe I can do better than that.
An Early Childhood Practice
Early in my childhood, I saw my dad getting up at 4 AM every day without exception. In fact, he was the alarm clock for my family. He would work for the government from 9 to 5, take care of our farm (yes, we did have cattle and we did not buy milk,) at night and in early morning, and then he would sit down with us to make sure we did our homework before he left for his duty.
We did not appreciate being woken at 6 o’clock every day, making us upset . But, I have come to appreciate his discipline and determination now that I understand the value of time more than I did back then.
Should You Be An Early Riser?
I have heard people (even the successful ones,) making fun of the old adage that says:
An early bird gets all the worms.
They say, “I am not a bird and I don’t want to eat worms.”
Well, I understand the context. They make fun of people who get up early Monday to Friday because they have to catch up to their jobs.
However, getting up early is a choice that each one of us needs to make based on our priorities in life.
For me, staying ahead of the game, staying fit, being on the cutting edge and not being average is a driving force.
I extract the time I get because I get up early, in preparing myself for the day while the rest of the world is still sleeping. It just gives me extra motivation and confidence I have done things today that most people did not because they were sleeping.
That reminds me of the famous quote:
Somewhere, right now, someone is training while you are not. When you race him, he will win.
-Ed Macauley (The basketball player)
So I get up early because I believe it’s worth the pain of losing some extra sleep. I get up to exercise, to train myself physically and mentally to face the world before the world wakes up. I get up to plan my day.
Do I ever miss out on doing this? Yes I do. Situations happen and I do miss my schedule sometimes. I don’t even dare to say that I have become a guru or something of that sort. I’m just sharing with you, my testimonial of the benefits of rising early.
Here’s some of the benefits you can get from doing it, and as a bonus, here’s how to actually do it!
5 Top Reasons For You To Get Up Early
There are so many reasons for getting up early. However, I am going to share with you just five good reasons to motivate you to consider (if you never have before,) getting up early and giving yourself an early boost every day.
1. You Can Learn Something New Using That Extra Time
Morning is the best time to learn something new. Your mind is fresh, your focus is the highest, and the atmosphere is just right for learning/reading.
I use this time to read my favorite book for 20-30 minutes. Imagine, if you can read 20 minutes every day, you can read one book a month. That means, you can finish twelve other books a year and that means you can read hundreds of books in a few years.
Now, just tell me how many people do you know who read even 10 books (not novels,) after they get out of school? Do you have an edge over all these people?
2. You Can Exercise
We all know that brisk walking or running for at least half an hour is highly recommended for good health. There is no exception, everybody knows that.
But, in today’s dynamic and busy environment, it has become almost impossible for anybody to have a routine of exercise ingrained. If your plate is already full, exercising is usually the last thing on the priority list to squeeze in.
So, I use my morning time to exercise even before I start reading. In fact, after I heard Robin Sharma talk about it, exercising is the first thing I do after I get up. And it is such a wonderful thing to do early in the morning.
Same as the last point. Most people do not exercise. If you can exercise 30 minutes a day regularly because you wake up 30 minutes early, do you realize what an enormous edge you will have over most people in the world?
Can you imagine the boost it gives to your self-image?
3. You Can Plan Your Day
This is another thing that most of us either do not like doing or don’t have time for. But, getting up early gives me an opportunity to plan my top five priorities of the day. Before everybody else gets up, I know what I am going to do with my day.
It doesn’t take more than 15 minutes to plan a day. But, it increases my self-image, it helps me go about my day in a much more organized way. Yes, emergencies show up, and sometimes you have to do what you have to do. But, a planned today is way better than an unplanned one.
4. You Can Leave To Work Early
We all know about the rush hour. And if you don’t know, get in your car and be on the road between 8 AM and 9 AM. The traffic will tell you everything you need to know about it. 🙂
Well, if you have the habit of getting up early, you can go to work early before most people get on the road. Also, you can plan to come back early the same way.
5. You Can Do Things You Never Have Time For
How about things you are passionate about and you never find time to get to them? Maybe, you want to start a blog. Perhaps you want to finish that book. It could be you want to create that product.
Getting up early gives you that extra time which you can completely dedicate to whatever task you like. No distractions, to disturbance, no emails or phone calls. Just plain focus on the task. Can you imagine?
A Last Motivation Booster For Rising Early
A higher self-image is obvious from these five things I just shared with you. However, as I am not a personal development guru, I want to share with you something that motivates me to notch up my habit even further.
I would have shared this review with you in the beginning of this post. But, then you would have probably ignored all my text. I know that because I know that you will get fired up after you watch this video.
And, if you already have watched this, then you know what I’m talking about. So, here is an incredible 14-minute talk from Robin Sharma who shares some scientifically proven and practical tips on the benefits of getting up early.
Please take time to watch this video and then share your thoughts through your comments because I know you will be moved if you watch this video talk.
Share Your Thoughts Now
I have shared my story with you already. Now, please share about your morning habits. What are some of your top activities when you wake up? Are you a member of an early risers club? Please share your thoughts as I am curious to know what you think.
Thank you kindly.
Great Article. you shared some good points of life that we never thought in rest of the time. thanks for this!
The Balthrop house tends to be up at 6-6:30 every day. Once the boys are dressed, fed, and off to their summer activities, I take the hour before my official workday begins for Morning Prayer, and the CBS World News Roundup (a 10 minute newscast that goes out live at 7 every morning and is available via podcast around 7:13 every day).
I also take the 7:30 half hour to read the morning newspapers’ web sites (Dallas, Fort Worth, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal), Our Sports Central’s list of minor league sports headlines, and Tom Taylor’s excellent radio business newsletter.
It is amazing how much learning you can do in an hour when you put your mind to it.
Hi Alan,
You are one of those rare people who I admire for contagious enthusiasm, discipline and excitement about life, learning and sharing the joy with others around.
I have no doubt that you must be getting very early and sleeping very late to be able to accomplish what you do every day. Thank you for inviting the other day to your house and it was pleasure knowing your boys your drive and enjoying work of finals at your home!
Thank you for sharing your testimonial and adding value to this post. Have a wonderful new week!
Regards,
Kumar
Hello, Kumar,
You have (had), a great father, who disciplined you well.
I am here to testify that you are definitely right on what you believe for the benefits of rising early in the morning. These days, I am actually learning something New using my morning time. By the way, I am reading “Why Nations Fail” by Acemoglu
Hi Sengabira,
Thank you for your compliments and yes my father still maintains the same routine although he is now 82+ and going strong.
“Why Nations Fail” is an awesome book that I have heard from a lot of people and it is one of those books in my pipeline of books to be read.
I look forward to hearing from you how did you feel about the book once you are done reading.
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar,
Awesome post indeed 🙂
Oh yes…I am an early riser, just like you, and I need to thank my younger one for that perhaps as she needs to leave for school around 6.45, so I have to be up early to make preparations. I guess it must be common with most moms, but the 66 days habit has been carrying on for years now and drilled in pretty well.
However, I DO take the weekend off – Sunday is a NO waking up early day, and that holds good for the whole family. I read somewhere that you need to break the habit in-between and give rest to your usual schedule too. For that matter, even our dog knows it’s Sunday and doesn’t bother us for another 2-3 hours – he also sleeps off…lol..
Like your Dad, my Mom was always an early riser and used to be up at 4, though she was more into prayers than exercise, as that is also supposed to be the right time for praying as they say our end. My Dad of course had to leave by 8 and was up at 6 too for his exercises, so as such, our family was always up at 6, except Sundays 🙂
You are SO right – you can get more than half your work done if you are an early riser. Well, speaking of myself, I go for my brisk morning walk at 5.30, and I don’t exactly follow the 20/20/20 as Robin mentioned, through I combine my 20(walk)+20(planning) = 40(walk), into one slot. My mind runs while I walk with ideas and plans that time, and on my way back I listen to music that boosts me further. The other 20 min are something I devote in reading the newspaper, though I loved Robin’s and your idea of devoting it in learning something new, and reading books, something I never find time for nowadays, so I’d start doing that I guess, in addition, and one can always take out another 20 min just for that.
Loved your tips indeed, and there is no way I’d not get up early. Yes, there are times when one has a very late night – then I don’t stress myself for waking up early. I love my 7-8 hours sleep, though just manage to get 5-6 hours at night, just like you, but I sleep off for an hour in the afternoon to catch up too, so it fits in pretty well.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice weekend 🙂
Hi Harleena,
Once again our habits match. Thank you for sharing your testimonial and your wonderful comment.
Whatever your reasons are but you do get up early and that’s what counts! And yes, you have lived it beyond 66 days of habit formation.
To me, this habit formed when I was out of college and in Mumbai looking to start a career in IT industry with Rs. 2500 in my pocket and an uncertain future. I did not want to bother my father and therefore, after I finish my college, I went to Mumbai with that much of a total sum and my enthusiasm, and my confidence that I will succeed.
When the preparedness meets opportunity, success happens. I was ready (for obvious reasons that I didn’t have enough in my pocket) and I got my first job on the first day in Mumbai.
Somewhere along those days, I caught up with the habit of getting up early, reading newspapers, finding job opportunities and trying every opportunity to make some more money.
Over these years, I moved from city to city, country to country and came all the way to the US. But that habit of getting up early, doing my reading and just having an edge over other people, has kept me going and I get at 6 AM or earlier no matter what day of the week it is.
In fact, today is my Sunday and I woke up at 5:45 AM, did what I do every day here I am responding to comments after getting my tomorrow’s blog post ready to be published.
Thank you very much for adding value through your comment and I appreciate you for being always a positive voice in blogosphere for me. It’s always great to associate with people like you.
Regards,
Kumar
Hey sir Kumar, it’s nice to be on here again this week on your great blog and I must confess this is a pretty great post to stumble upon here today. 🙂
So you shared some really cool tips on how to be a riser and the 5 benefits and more are what I’m now getting and this has really helped me in achieving a whole lot.
It has helped me in going to the gym nearly everyday to build my muscle and go out on early morning jugging.
I also make use of those early hours to get my head in the game as I start putting pen on white paper.
Thanks so much for the share sir and I have enlisted your post on my Friday Roundup post.
Sam
Awesome Sam! am glad to know that you are also an early riser! Isn’t it amazing feeling to just know have been one of our extra conscious today when compared with rest of the world?
I am very happy to know that you get up and you exercise and you go to jog and it helps you get your plan onto paper. That’s fantastic!
Please keep up the good work and before long you will see success chasing you!
To your success!
-Kumar
Hehe…..thanks sir and trust me, I can’t wait for that time when I stopped pursing success but he pursuing me. 🙂
Awesome post and tips I guess, Well its very important for blogger or any person to wake up early and start the day. It will helps us to accomplish all the task we’ve scheduled.
The tips are really helpful and I’ll make sure to follow it.
Thanks
Great Akritri,
I am glad to have you here at my blog and I am glad to know that you enjoyed this post. Thank you for dropping by and sharing your appreciation!
Have a successful new week!
Regards,
Kumar
Hello Kumar,
Since I regulate my working hours myself (and seldom have appointments fixed before 8AM), I hardly have a rigorous schedule of waking up and sleeping.
Usually, I take a nap (about an hour) during the day and sleep for about 5 during the night. This can be as early as 6PM or as late as 4AM (depending on the schedule or deadlines I have to meet).
So, to me, this is a question of hours (of sleep), rather than time. Believe me when I say the answer is a miserly 5-6 every 24 hours!
Have a great weekend!
Always,
Terungwa
Hi Akaahan,
I understand where you’re coming from and actually, I agree with you.
As long as you know what you are doing, as long as you are excited about being away, as long as you can keep your mind focused and as long as you can feel enthusiastic throughout your day, it doesn’t matter what time you go to bed and what kind you get up. You know that you are being productive and you are not wasting your time. That is a great confidence booster.
The idea is to use our time on this earth in being productive, in being active and living our lives with confidence and joy.
It seems that you are already doing what most people won’t do and therefore I congratulate you. 4 to 5 hours of sleep, if done right, is more than sufficient to live a happy and healthy life. You don’t have to spend 10 hours into bed to be healthy.
Thank you for dropping by and adding value. Have a great new week!
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar; I generally go to bed about 2:00 am and get up about 8:00 or 9:00. I am a sleep apnea patient so i try not to push it too much. I do know that when I am in the middle of a project or have a client who lives in a different part of the world I can be awake even more hours of the day or night. And I like to listen to an audio book while exercising so I double down on that 30 minutes. And the extra time helps make up for the time my doggie penny says put the laptop down and pet me by rubbing her cold nose on my arm. 🙂 thanks for sharing the post. Take care, Max
Hi Max,
Having clients in different parts of world, working with people in different time zones, can be a little tricky. And therefore, what you’re doing is probably the right thing to do. And I can easily see that you do not spend much time in bed anyway.
I have no doubt that you are absolutely productive and you use your time very effectively. So I think that you testify the fact that as long as we’re productive time is not really that important.
Usually after 4 to 5 hours of sleep our mind is much better in focus, in attention and we are able to get the toughest chores done in that state of mind. And usually, most people including myself sleep after midnight till morning and that is why early rising is so important for us.
However, if you sleep for two or three hours at night and you go to bed at 2 or 3 AM, getting up at five may not be a very wise idea. And exactly that’s what you’re saying. I appreciate your feedback and thank you for sharing your story.
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar
I have mostly always been an early riser but I am finding it difficult this winter in Australia. In summer I can jump out of bed at 4.30 easily as it is light very early. But winter a different story. I did watch the video and I am seeing I should make it a ritual not just a preferred option. I loved his tip about putting the alarm away from you. I use the alarm on my iPhone and have it right next to me but I am going to take on that advice.
I am also finding I need more sleep than I did when I was younger. I used to pride myself on 4 hours sleep at one stage but I sure cannot do that now.
Most exercise first up most mornings. I have gone through times where I get up and read or watch something motivational first and then exorcise, it depends on the time of year.
I have tried blogging or creating content first thing but that does not work for me.
I loved the post and the video Kumar.
Sue
Hi Sue,
I love that video too! One thing I have about Robyn Sharma was teaching is that he makes everything seem so practical, powerful and achievable. He makes difficult things look simple and he did a marvelous job of inspiring anybody to be wanting to get up early even though it is not a favorite thing for most of us.
Anyways, I am glad to know that you are already an early riser and you are able to adjust your time in according to your current age and physical capacity. That is so wonderful to hear that you are able to do justice with your time and you are being productive everyday.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and adding value. You have a wonderful new week!
Regards,
Kumar
Hey Kumar,
Really Great post there. I totally agree that if you wake up early you can do lots of things. On the other hand if You wake up late, the rest of your day goes silly and you feel tired. Like you can’t do anything even I used to wake up early but not doing it since some weeks. But now I will get back to the track. Thanks for your inspiration!
Rohit
HI Rohit,
You are so absolutely right. Maybe get up late, the rest of the day also goes just like that and at the end of the day, we look back and wonder, “What did I do today?”
Thank you for pointing that out because that is an incredible tip, and a practical one!
I am sure you will get back to getting up early and hopefully Robin Sharma’s video give you enough tips on how to make this a habit, a ritual.
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar,
You are right about the mentality of people who don’t like to wake up early in the morning.
They think that people who wake up early in the morning are wasting their time. They should sleep rather than to waste their time.
But the naked truth is that people who utilize their morning time have much efficiency than others.
Being fit and fine is important for all of us because we can’t take risk to affect our body.
We should do exercise in the morning which can freshen our mind and we can have some new ideas.
Thanks for sharing such an amazing post.;)
Have a wonderful weekend.:)
~Ravi
Hi Ravi,
I am so happy to know that you enjoyed this post and you could relate to it. When I saw that video of Robin Sharma, I was so excited to know that getting up early doesn’t have to be such a fight. It doesn’t have to be a painful process and instead it can be used to empower our spirits, to get back into shape and to have an edge over rest of the world! How wonderful feeling it is to know that I have done something today when everybody else was sleeping, isn’t it?
Thank you for dropping by again and adding value to your wonderful comment.
Regards,
Kumar
Hey Kumar,
I think I would have to say that I’m not really a morning person. I’m not exactly sure about the things we inherit from our parents but if I don’t get a good nights sleep for say three nights in a row then I get sick. I end up with flu like symptoms and I got that from my Dad.
Because I am on the computer into the night hours by the time I get off then I have to take a few hours to wind down. Even if I were to go to bed at midnight every night I don’t fall fast asleep so getting up around 8:00 would be my full eight hours of sleep but I’m usually up and ready to work by 8:00 am. I have my morning rituals as well but I wish I didn’t need a lot of sleep.
My Mom on the other hand is the exact opposite. She rarely gets five hours a night but she was like that since a child. I do my best to go to bed around 11:00 and I get up around or shortly after 7:00 am. I’m dragging too. The way I look at this is if I’m able to get everything done I wanted to for the day then it doesn’t matter what time I get up. I’m not going to put that kind of pressure on myself.
Oh and I do sleep in on the weekends. I’m so darn tired that’s why I look forward to them so much. 😉
I’m jealous of your schedule but glad you’re able to do that and stay rested.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne,
I think that being an early riser is a metaphor. The idea is to be productive, to not waste time in bed and to not be lazy, right?
Some of us cannot sleep before 1 AM or 2 AM. Obviously, getting up at five for those of us isn’t such a wonderful idea. And I think that it’s okay because if you are awake at that time, you are being productive and you are doing things that rest of the word is not doing because they are sleeping.
I guess that being cognizant of our time and how we use it to be productive is the key. And I have no doubt that you are making full use of your time otherwise I can’t imagine you being able to accomplish so many things at once.
Have a great week.
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar,
I’ve been meaning to read this post for a few days now 🙂
Ahah “mind over mattress” it’s so funny!
I’ve always, always been an early riseer my whole life since I was a child, so that has never been a problem for me. I wake up between 6 to 6:30 every morning, but at times it can be 4:30 to 5 if I’m not sleepy anymore.
My mother used to get up at 4:30 every morning. She use to say a French saying a lot that goes like this: The world belongs to the ones who rise early. I’ve heard that my whole childhood! And I truly believe it.
Of course you have those night owl people, but to me you get so much more accomplished if you rise early in the morning.
Thanks for waking us up 🙂 and have a wonderful day!
Hi Sylviane,
The world belongs to those who rise up early! Wow! I love that. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Well, like a shared in my story, I was forced to get up early by my dad in childhood and I really did not understand the value of getting up early until I was out of college.
But then, I am glad I did begin getting up early and it has made a tremendous difference in my lifestyle.
Glad to know you are an early riser too and in fact, your eyes at least an hour before I do. That’s wonderful!
Thank you for dropping by and adding value to your wonderful comment.
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar,
Love your title and WISH I could really do this…sigh…Hoping there is hope. LOL
Now will dive into your content, and try to adjust. You see, my husband doesn’t get him from work until after 10:00 pm, and then it’s wind down time.. So, as a family, we’re up later than most families due to his work schedule.
Wow, your dad was an early riser, and you had a wonderful example.
It is a wonderful time of day – I really do enjoy getting up early, but would never want to set an alarm clock. I would love to get up with the sun and go to sleep by 9 pm or 10 pm at the latest.
You’re right about morning being the best time for learning. I love to spend time in prayer and devotion each morning. Time alone for meditation. I love it. But it’s really not that early, but it’s the first part of my day.
I’ve recently bought an elliptical machine and am now enjoying exercise no matter what the weather is outside.
Okay, I listened to Robin Sharma’s video…About the 5 am club. I’m really not sure this is possible for me due to my husband’s work schedule. Our apartment is small and it’s not possible for me to be up doing my routines without disturbing him.
I would rarely see him if I adopted this.
Love his point about willpower being the strongest in the morning…
5-8, most mental focus, most energy and most willpower?
Hmmm, will have to figure a way to make this possible, Kumar, because it is very enticing.
“…You don’t feel like a victim, you feel like a leader….” wow, very powerful
66 days…Wow, so awesome – can it be a 7 am habit? LOL
Robin is awesome – had heard of him but really never listened to a full video of his. Great stuff – very empowered and motivational.
Thanks so much for sharing this, Kumar – excellent stuff.
Will be scheduling things more clearly…and would love to become what he refers to as an extreme achiever!
Have a wonderful weekend.
Take Care,
Carol Amato
Hi Carol,
I go to bed, as I shared in my post, after midnight – sometimes at 1 AM and sometimes at 2 AM. But, I get up before 6 AM anyway. In fact, now I get up at 5:30 AM. It works and I never feel tired either 🙂
However, it seems like you go to bed very very late and then it gets harder for you to get up in the morning. That’s all right! You don’t have to give up on your health to join 5 AM club.
The idea behind post and a video of Robin Sharma is that we don’t need to sleep 7-8 hours to stay healthy and productive. And the people who sleep 8-10 hours do not seem to have any better health or wealth either. So, why waste time in bed if we could be productive by using the time? After all we have a limited number of years on this earth….
Thank you for dropping by and adding value. I hope that you will find your balance if you haven’t already (on this topic) 🙂
Have a great new week.
Regards,
Kumar
Thanks for sharing this amazing and informative article … enjoyed every bit of it .. 🙂
Apu
I think getting up early to exercise is a wonderful idea.Its been years now and I feel lazy,sad and unwell if I have not exercised in the morning because exercise releases endorphins and you feel good all day long.
Lately I noticed that it also boosts my will power.