In 2019 I was changing the direction of my business. It was a concept that my husband, a visionary, could see, but I couldn’t yet see it. However, I planned on starting a blog. Being the planner that I am, I started writing for the blog to have material in advance. I wrote weekly. Many of those written articles remain unpublished. Life changes so quickly that by the time the blog launched, some of the articles I wrote no longer seemed relevant. I was also growing and changing and some of my words no longer resonated. In those unpublished blogs are three blogs about the book the 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma.
The blogs were about my commitment to building the habit of waking at 5 AM. It was about my experience of creating a new habit. For about 70 days, I woke up at 5 AM without fail. I didn’t take a single day off. Even when visiting friends, I was up and out of the cottage at 5 AM. I’d go for a brisk walk and then find a seat and finish my routine. I was dedicated.
Just a little over two years later, I still get up early. I don’t get up at 5 AM, but I get up early.
My supportive husband never asked me to stop my 5 AM habit, but he did admit that my getting up at 5 AM was an interruption to his sleep. Eventually, after it became a habit, I moved the 5 AM to 6 AM. The challenge was that with the habit already formed, 6 AM felt a little off. I couldn’t get my day off to a good start. So slowly, I moved it back—5:45, then 5:30. I even tried 5:15. I finally settled on 5:30 AM. It seems to fit me, and my husband doesn’t comment as much as when it was 5 AM. Maybe the extra 30 minutes is enough.
5:30 AM. Monday to Friday. I turn off the alarm on Saturday and Sunday’s now. It will surprise you to know that most weekends, I’m still up by 6. My internal clock is now just wired that way.
I love getting up at 5:30 AM. Especially in the summer. Most mornings, I get up and spend the first hour on things that fill my soul. Then I exercise for 30 minutes. I shower and get ready, and start my workday at 8.
I recently saw an article that suggested that successful entrepreneurs get up and get to work early. I don’t get up at 5:30 AM to start work early. I get up at 5:30 to get to work on myself. That first hour of the day is all about me. It is about clearing my head and filling it with the right things. I make time to grow my knowledge and improve my health (physical and mental). Getting up at 5:30 AM gives me quiet time with no distractions. I talk about the importance of filling our cups. I talk about putting our masks on first. Getting up at 5:30 AM is one of the ways I fill my cup first. It fills me up enough to put in a solid day of focused work.
When I sit down at my desk, I’m ready for the day.
Many people have commented that 5:30 AM is too early for them. It’s too early for my husband. It is perfect for me.
Do you get up early? If you do, what do you do with the quiet part of the day, when it is only you? Do you work? Or do you fill your cup?
“Morning is an important time of day because how you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.” Lemony Snicket
“Morning is an important time of day because how you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.”
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