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There was an interesting article in Forbes about how power women wake up early, and commenters seemed interested in talking about it more, so I thought we should explore in an open thread. How early do you get up? What do you do with the time? Any tips that make it easier to get up then? For those of you who don’t rise that early, do you have another special time of the day?
{related: how to wake up more easily when it’s dark out}
For my $.02: I was always a night owl when I was younger. Term papers and graduation speeches alike got written in the hours between 12 and 3. I realized this was a problem sometime around high school when, reading a college admissions essay I had thought brilliant the night before, I realized a good two sentences were devoted to “finding a piece of licorice on the floor.” And not even in a metaphor way, just a “Kat had a dream while typing” way. Still, the habit perpetuated until after law school, I think. By then — working crazy long hours — I realized that my best time truly was first thing upon waking. So I started getting up earlier.
I also realized a funny thing: that the time was truly mine when I got up earlier. I wasn’t rushing out the door to get to work. I had time (and energy) for a workout. Then I truly got greedy and realized I could get the ME stuff done then — the stuff I’d always wanted to do but never had the chance to.
I attempted to finish NaNoWriMo in the hours between 4:30-6:30 one November. I read books I had meant to read in college but never gotten around to — thinky books that won National Book Awards, and not just the latest brain candy. I started this blog.
(In fact, most of the longer posts for the first six months of this blog were written primarily in those morning hours.)
Occasionally, I would even use this “super Kat” time for good and do work work (usually when I was up against a deadline and needed super focus to get it done.) I love these hours — time to myself, and time to be proactive rather than react to the day.
All that said — I’ll admit it’s really hard to get up, especially when it’s dark outside. I’ve found that it’s helpful to set the coffee the night before, and also to put my workout clothes in the bathroom so it doesn’t take too much effort to change into them. I also tell myself, “If something is important to you there will be time in your schedule for it somewhere, and now is that time.”
Readers, how about you? Do you rise and shine early — and do you use it for “me” time or productive work time?
Original photo credit (2011): Sunrise, originally uploaded to Flickr by killthebird. Updated pictures via Stencil.
This post was originally written Dec. 12, 2011, but substantially updated Dec. 2021.
Amber Smith
I usually wake up at 5:30 AM. But It wasn’t so easy at the beginning I had very hard time to it.
What I did was simply set 2 alarm clocks and put them far from my bed, this way I had no choise but to get up from bed and shut them.
I think if you need to wake up early, you should try this. If it worked for me it must work for you. Cheers!
Rose
I have no problem getting up for a morning workout, but then I find that I’m exhausted around 11:00am in the morning. Getting up early affects my productivity later in the day and that’s not really acceptable. I’ve started going to the gym directly from work on my way home and that seems to work a lot better.
Kristen Reese
I too have found that waking up early is the “magic” time for me. With three young children who rise at 7AM, the hours between 4:30-6:30 are often the only moments I get to myself. Getting up that early is the only opportunity I have to commit to working out and doing something for me and only me. I continually say that nothing is getting in my way that early, except for myself. Glad to see others feel this way too.
BTW – sometimes I sleep in my workout clothes so I just have to put on my shoes and leave :)
TravellingChitalian
3 words: Sunrise Alarm Clock. My favorite is this one:
http://www.amazon.com/BioBrite-Sunrise-Clock-Advanced-Charcoal/dp/B00196LFIU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1323790962&sr=8-3
It helps me wake up more naturally in the morning, and normally the gradual brightening of the room wakes me up before the annoying buzzer noise – much more pleasant! And it allows me to keep getting up at 5:30am even in the dark days of winter. I do this so that I can work out before I go to work…. though I’ve been fighting a sinus infection, so lately I’ve been skipping a lot of the workouts. Nonetheless, it helps me be more productive with my mornings. And I was NEVER a morning person before I got this alarm clock. I recommend it to everyone!!!
JenK
This is very timely for me! I’ve recently figured out that I could put my 4:30 am insomnia to good use. If I got some good work in then, I’d be able to work out later in the day (even if I do crawl back under the covers for one more snuggle just before the alarm goes off)
chanelle
The only thing i was thinking about while reading this article is: how many hour does she sleep!? We read a lot of articles on sleep deprivision and the long terms effect of that. I personaly need my minimum 8 hours of sleep, if not i do not have as much energy and will eventually have a migraine if i continue. My body talks to me that way. Some of my friends get up really early to be super productive but they do not listen to their bodys. We live in a world were we have pressure of beeing super womans and sometimes it’s really hard to keep our balance in that. I feel guilty sometimes because i need to sleep so much and i compare myself to other super womans like some of you are but at the same time i say to myself: maybe i will live a longer and healthier life after all. My point is we need to remember to be carefull and take care of ourselves. We are not invincible. If it is SO hard to get up at 5h am maybe it’s because your body is talking to you and you NEED the sleep to recuperate. :) (sorry for my mistakes, i’m french)
JenK
Absolutely. I just read through the whole thread and am struck by the emphasis on alarm clocks. What seems particularly jarring to me is the clash between exercising (good for mind & body) and not getting enough sleep (not good for concentration or physical health). Short term a couple hours of being short on sleep can be ok, but over the long run it’s def not a good thing.
Quds
Thank you for writing this. I also have a problem with waking up in the morning although I’ve experienced how good it is to wake up and finish all the task and the to-do lists on time especially when i am not juggling 100 things a minute.
But still I have a problem waking up on my own ON TIME. I always need three different alarms, three different snoozes and occasionally the help of my mom or friend to get me out of bed… Recently I joined the work force in my country and right now i am trying to be as professional and efficient a i can… So what do i do to fix this?
Em
Quds –
If you can’t get to sleep earlier on your own (Google can help you find some common behavioural recommendations), it’s probably worth getting some outside help. See a doctor – your family doc may be able to help, but you may need to see a sleep specialist to rule out sleep apnea.
If you have a smartphone, there are apps that will help you track your sleep cycle (better ones typically require external hardware – an armband or headband). That can help you understand if you’re waking up a lot at night, or if you’re not getting into deep sleep.
Once you know what the problem is, you can make changes – either behavioural (for example, I can’t drink caffeine past noon or alcohol past 5 without affecting my sleep quality and quantity), or medicinal (with the guidance of a doc!).