Benefits of Waking Up Early – 5 Ways to Capitalize On It

For most people, part of the dissatisfaction with their job comes from having to get up early, feel weak and tired. What a great start in the day, right?

The feeling of the warm and cozy blanket wrapping around your body. The anticipation of the cold and dark that waits outside the bed, coupled with the boring and repetitive workday life.

All these perceptions already put you in a negative mindset regarding early hours.

But what if I tell you that these early hours are a key component to success and happiness?

What if changing these perceptions can change your life?

In this article, I will discuss the importance and significance of waking up early and starting your day the right way!

Why Getting up Early?

Before we start talking about what to do once you made it out of bed, let’s try to convince you to even consider doing it.

The average person arrives in the office at roughly 8:18.

Consequently, in order to have breakfast, get dressed and drive to work, most people have to get up at 7 am the latest.

Coming back from work at around 4-5pm, there are other responsibilities to take care of. You still have to pay that bill. Taking care of your children. Cooking and having dinner. You know what I am talking about.

After fulfilling all these tasks switching on the tv, snacking some chips and going to bed late because you know what awaits you as soon as you wake up: another terrible morning.

For the simple reason that staying up little longer might seem like a comforting thing to do.

While it’s perfectly reasonable to do this every now and then to relieve stress and enjoy some “me time” this way. It is not going to change your situation.

If you are one of the many many people who does not enjoy their job, hiding from it won’t improve your position.

But even if you are one of the lucky few who loves what they are doing day in and day out. Do you have any goals you want to achieve but simply don’t find the time for?

Do you want to pick up a daily reading habit again? Because you know how much you will like it and how much it benefits you once you start it.

Do you want to start working out more frequently? Because you know how much better you could look and how much healthier you would feel.

All these are common goals many people continuously have.

They are the classics of new-years resolutions.

And yet most of them fail again and again.

We all heard of how much gym memberships increase in January. And how they fall steadily after.

So why do most people fail at it? Why is it so difficult to work on something you wholeheartedly desire?

The answer might lay within the morning hours.

Every time you come home after work and all the mentioned responsibilities of what already was and what is yet to come have exhausted you tremendously.

This means that it is way harder to pick up a book or to hit the gym. Instead of laying on the sofa while watching tv.

After a long day of doing stuff you don’t even like to do, the brain craves for short-term gratification.

However, if you go to bed early, let’s say 9, and wake up after a good 7-8 hours of sleep. You can get up at 4-5.

I know this might seem crazy at first. Why in the right mind would someone do this voluntarily?

While at the end of the day, your energy and willpower are already used up, at the start of it, it is still untouched.

Your mind is clear and fresh (after you get your blood flowing) and you are ready to get things done.

Additionally, it is easier to form a habit at the beginning of the day.

In the morning, there are no distractions and your head isn’t clogged up with the matters of the day.

You won’t get messages from your friends, you won’t think about that one tv show your colleague told you about at lunch.

And most importantly, there is no one else awake in the house.

No one to talk to, no one to catch up with and no one to distract you.

In these 1-2 hours before your normal workday starts, you can work on your wildest and most ambitious dreams. Without anyone questioning or criticizing it. Not just that. You can do whatever you want. Like starting a new hobby that brings you joy.

Moreover, getting to bed early will not steal away any productive or important hours. Whereas it might add valuable ones in the morning. Because let’s be honest, there are only a few of us who have the superpower that allows them to get a lot done after a certain time. I am certainly not one of them.

The Chain Reaction

If you are not convinced to get up early already, then I am sure we can manage to achieve that by the end of this article.

To illustrate one of the biggest and most beneficial benefits of getting up early, let’s take a look at how it will affect your life on a daily basis.

Assuming you would decide to do a 30-45 minutes workout in the morning every day from Monday to Friday. Now let’s also assume that your workday starts at 8 am and finishes at 5 pm.

• 5:00 am. – Your alarm rings, the first thing you want to do is go back to sleep because “there is still a lot of time until work starts”. Now here is where the battle is won or lost. You give in if you decide to stay in bed. There will be no change regarding your current position in life. If you are okay with that and are genuinely happy, accept it. However, if you want to achieve more, pursue your goals and get more done. Get out of the bed.
• 5:05 am. – You made it. You dragged yourself out of the bed but are still very tired and question your decision to get up at 5. You might think there is no way you can implement this in your life at this point.
• 5:15 am. – No one else is awake, not inside and probably not outside as well. Now you start working out 45 minutes. Since you already made it out of bed, there is not much else to do anyway. Going to the gym, going for a run, doing a home-workout. Whatever you chose to begin with.
• 6:00 am. – You finished a nice workout without any distractions, your first win of the day. You decide to get breakfast ready for you and your partner/kids/parents. You feel happy and energetic because you have already accomplished so much. While the others didn’t even make it out of bed yet, you already got a workout in. It is easier to give back when you feel good about yourself. I find myself the most wholesome and generous when I achieved something or have the feeling I am on top of my game.
• 7:30 am. – After showering, getting dressed and having a drawn-out breakfast with your loved ones, you head off to work in a pleasant state of mind and body.
• 7:50 am. – You arrive at your workplace early, ready and energized to get shit done
• 5 pm. – Your workday has been great. You were productive and that resonates with your feelings. You head home with a smile on your face.
• 5:30 pm. – Arriving home, dinner has already been made by your loved ones in response to the breakfast you made for them earlier. If you make an effort for a nice gesture, there is a good chance it will be returned. From now on, the rest of the evening can be used to your liking. Without having to feel bad about spending time in front of the tv, instead of starting to work out. Or maybe, just maybe, you pick up a book. Because you have been on a roll all day long so why stop it!

As I hope to have illustrated in an understandable way, once you win that first fight at 5 am in the morning. The next decisions and acts of discipline will become easier and easier throughout the day.

It’s this first decision at the beginning of the day that has a great influence on the ones following after.

This will, in my experience:

• bright up your attitude during the day, making the workday less of a chore
• improve relationships in private and at work
• make you feel energized for the whole day
• bring you closer to fulfilling your goals
• give you a feeling of having more time during the day

At this point, I hope I could convince you to at least give it a shot and see what getting up early can do for you.

3 Tips How to Get up Early

Now that I hopefully got you excited about the idea of getting up early. I’ll provide you with some examples of how you can use your new gained time.

3.1 Work out

Many people dream of a better body. They are unsatisfied and don’t feel comfortable in their skin. 45-60 Minutes a day will not only keep you more focused throughout the day, but it will also be more than enough to ensure you get the body you dream of.

If you are new to building muscles this article. will provide the perfect fundament for you:

3.2 Reading

Another popular habit people want to improve on is reading more.

In my experience, reading something about personal development gives me the greatest pleasure. It can be a little dry at times and it uses a lot of energy if you want to get something out of it. But reading about nature, space, psychology or a new hobby you want to start with, can really spark your curiosity and be the start of something new and exciting.

But what you want to read and how much you want to get out of it is obviously up to you in the end.

3.3 Programming Skills

Maybe not a favorite for a lot of people, but coding gets more and more important and attractive as a skill to have.

It’s the perfect example for when you are stuck at a job you don’t like and try to learn something completely new. And who knows, once you learned a fair bit, it might turn out to be an important factor in your next job interview.

3.4 Housework

Want to build something? Renew something? Just have a lot of stuff to tidy up or get done in the house?

Get these things done the night before. Cleaning the house doesn’t take much mental effort. You want to save these tasks for later in the day when your mind is tired.

3.5 Study

If you are really unhappy with your current situation and you feel like you are stuck in your current position, try to put in the extra hour in the morning to study.

This does not seem like the most exciting idea. But studying and applying for distance-learning studies can widen your expertise, show you what your interests are, and make you more attractive as an employee.

Conclusion

To conclude, I want to emphasize one more time to give it a shot, not once, but over a longer period of time. Stick to it for at least 30 days.

Once your body gets used to the new sleep rhythm, it becomes easier to get up early in the morning. I promise!

Additionally, when the first results of your daily efforts start to show, it will be much easier to appreciate the time you put into it.

You will feel great for what you have accomplished and how much discipline you showed.

While truly progressing in whatever aspects of life you choose to improve on.

Make the most use of the chain reaction and finally:

• get your dream body
• read about your interests
• get shit done
• evolve as a person

If you decide to try it or are still struggling to find the motivation, please feel free to comment and reach out to us.

Also, for getting started with motivation visit, check out this article.

Share your experiences and thoughts!

Thank you for reading

Cheers,

Matthis