Why I get up at 4 am and you should too if you want to be more productive.
I love the sound of my alarm going off at 4 am and if you love productivity you will as well. Ok love maybe a strong word but when you get into the groove of getting up at 4 am you will love the results you get in those early morning hours when the rest of the world is still sleeping.
On the iPhone you can schedule your sleep so your phone will auto engage do not disturb and you can schedule different alarms based on days
I have always gotten up early, well at least since I started my career in manufacturing, every company I have worked for has a start time between 6-7 am so after 20+ years of getting up for work early makes me an early riser all the time but right now my schedule is Monday through Friday I am up at 4 am and the weekends I ‘sleep in’ until 6 am.
I find I get more done in those 3-3.5 hours before my wife and kids get up than any other point of time during the day. I have a list in Todoist called my morning routine and most of it is to make sure my wife doesn’t wake up to a mess from the kids (and me) but once that list is done I am able to focus on whatever I want…from reading to making videos or writing. There is no limit to what I will work on in the early morning hours. One thing I love is the ability to review emails and my projects completely distracted-free, it has been a complete game-changer for me and my productivity.
So some context on my Morning Routine list,
My workout is either a walk, weight training, or HITT but the constant is that it is 45 minutes long and done right after I wake up the reason for the 45 minutes is the 75 Hard program I am doing right now. I think when the program is over in a few weeks I may cut down to 30 minutes but I have a good routine of walks and workouts I enjoy and they all take 45 minutes so that may stay.
After the workout I usually start cooking breakfast, 3 pieces of bacon and 2-3 eggs is normal but sometimes I have some toast well.
While I am cooking I usually try to do the clean-up items, garbage out, straighten up, dishes, laundry, and so on. Once all that is done and breakfast is ready I usually watch a youtube video while eating and then I clean up and read at least 10 pages from a book (Kindle) as well as one page from the Daily Stoic book. After all that I will take a shower and take care of the dogs, if I am a super sweaty mess I may shower right after the workout, either way, I am done with everything by around 6ish then that gives me a good hour to hour and a half before I hear anyone up and moving about upstairs. During this time I plan my day, I look at my Today list in Todoist and my calendar in Fantastical to plan out my day, some things are already blocked out but if I have open blocks during the day I will fill them in with stuff that needs to be done.
Planning out my day is super important to me, if not I am not in control of MY time, of course with a normal 9-5 you are at the mercy of your boss and your customers but still take the time to plan your day snd do your best to stick to it. One thing I just started doing is blocking out 1 hour for lunch every day, I found myself taking calls and answering emails during lunch all the time and that is my personal time and no one else so I deserve that small break during the day and I want to make sure if anyone looks it shows me as unavailable and I see it as a reminder to take a break.
Keep a schedule, I time block my day and I love it but do what works for you but please do it…you will thanks me.
“A study by Promotional Products Association International found only a third of Americans keep a daily schedule, which means the vast majority wake up every morning with no formal plans. Our most precious asset—our time—is unguarded, just waiting to be stolen. If we don’t plan our days, someone else will.” -Indistractable by Nir Eyal
So I assume you are now setting your alarm for 4 AM right now 🤣… probably not but I challenge you to at least get up an hour earlier than usual and do SOMETHING for you. Plan your day, read a book or your Bible or maybe just meditate for a little while. The point is to get up, be productive and enjoy some well-deserved ME time. You will see the benefits after just a few days and will never turn back.
Larry
