5am

[Scorpibear]

I wonder who is getting up every day including weekends and holidays at 5 am or even earlier. This is the field where I have been struggling for a year, maybe. The most successful experience was in February-March 2006, when I was able to get up at 5 am 18 days without a break, but it was not enough in order to make habit. I even create a page for those who what to make transition from owl to lark - http://LifeIdea.org/5am (in Russian) and this surge plenty of enthusiasts who decided to make such habit too. But still, I have a desire, but not have a habit.

Will be glad to hear about successful experiences, when someone was able to get up at 5 am 30 days without break and continue to do this right now.

[jaden]

I've gotten up at 5am after applying most of Steve's ideas regarding how to wake up early. Two of the biggest factors were learning that he hasn't always been a morning person and could sleep for hours on end (I'm the same way and thought early risers might just be geared that way) and that you have to wake up early every day, not just during the week. I've woken up at 5am for 93 days and counting

[simon]

Jaden, what did you do specifically to develop this habit? After going 90-odd days getting up at 5am, have you found that this habit has been beneficial? In what ways?

[mark]

i'm jealous... i tried to make it a habit getting up at (as late as) 6, but got off track after 6 weeks or so. main reason was me being too tired to get anything productive done before 8, so after a while my mind told me to just stay in bed.
what do you guys do to keep running until you're fully on track?

[Trustme]

You have to realize that there is a difference between the psychological barrier (your mind tells you to get back to bed as quickly as possible) and a physiological barrier (your body just needs more sleep).

I managed to overcome the first barrier on a regular basis to hit the second one (and I hit it hard a couple of times ;-)

For example I worked on myself until I jumped out of bed nearly every day at 6 am sharp. I moved this time to 5 am and I could do it. The problem was that I was very very tired in the evening.

I could solve the problem with a nap in the evening (from 30 to 90 minutes depending on how I feel). I can get out of bed at 4:30 am without much of a problem now (with an average nap time of 60 minutes in the evening).

If anyone is interested I can write some more about my journey to the psychological barrier *g*

Volkmar

[micth]

The first part of the year i got up at midday or later (I'm 17 gimme a break), but this half of the year i've jumped on the personal development bandwagon, and started getting up at 5am, no matter what. I can say that it's yielded excellent results. I get way more done, more energy, sleep less, more motivated... i definately recommend this to you guys... it's not a terribly hard thing to do, but it's had flow on effects to most areas of my life.

[Tester]

I wonder why exactly 5am? I know that it is good to wake up with sunrise, but sun not always rise at 5am. Moreover, in the USA, Canada and in the most contries in Europe there is so called daylight saving time (DST) when the local time shifts 1 hour forward during summer time. So if you wake up at 5am in the winter, you will have to wake up at 4am in the summer! It is so hard for me to wake up when there is still dark outside...

[JeffS]

Originally Posted by Tester

I wonder why exactly 5am? I know that it is good to wake up with sunrise, but sun not always rise at 5am. Moreover, in the USA, Canada and in the most contries in Europe there is so called daylight saving time (DST) when the local time shifts 1 hour forward during summer time. So if you wake up at 5am in the winter, you will have to wake up at 4am in the summer! It is so hard for me to wake up when there is still dark outside...

That has happened to me, too. I was consistently getting up at 5:30, until suddenly the sun wasn't rising before that. I had been gradually backing up my waking time by half-hour increments, and I think at one point, my body got used to getting up when the sun did. Then I kept going backward, and sun started rising later! Didn't work so well. I've struggled to get back on track, but it helps to develop the early-rising habit when the sun is rising later--that way you aren't dependent on the light/warmth to cue your body.

[Brendon Colby]

Meh yeah I don't know, I personally just get up when I feel like it. Today it was 8am. I don't see that as being "bad." I'm pretty much good until 12am or later. But I've always been inclined to work later at night and despise mornings (esp. 5am in Iowa in the winter!). Sure that's probably conditioning, but at this point I really have no overwhelming incentive to force myself to get up at 5am. It's a nice idea but hasn't really worked for me at this point.

[Adam]

I've found that I have to do something right when I wake up, or I'll start sleeping through my alarm. I'm getting up at 6am right now, but I'm also seriously considering 5am, because that extra hour will come in very handy.

Some of the things that I do is to head out for a jog or start doing push-ups and sit-ups, military style, for about an hour. (I miss running with large groups, chanting out cadences...) On the weekends, I take a shower immediately, which, for my pipes, wakes me up pretty quickly with a blast of cold before the heat kicks in.

[jaden]

Originally Posted by simon

Jaden, what did you do specifically to develop this habit? After going 90-odd days getting up at 5am, have you found that this habit has been beneficial? In what ways?

I made sure to get to bed at a reasonable hour (9-10pm most nights) and I decided the night before that at 5am I would get out of bed without hesitation. One trick I used to get myself to bed at a reasonable time (I used to be up after midnight regularly) was to tell myself that I wasn't gaining or losing any time, I was just changing the order of it. In other words, the same things I was doing at night could be done just as easily in the morning.

In reality I end up doing far more productive things in the morning than at night. I created a detailed morning schedule, allowing me to get 2 hours of organized productivity that I've wanted to do including meditating, writing in my journal, reading, blogging and exercising. I get nearly all of those things done by 7am (I exercise a little later in the morning) so for me, it's been a great change and I plan to make it a lifelong habit.

I also feel more alert and awake when I get to work in the morning, and if I have any early meetings I never have to worry about sleeping through them.

[jasonmanheim]

For the last 6 months I've been waking up at 3:30am and I go to bed when I feel tired (as in I'm snoring in less than 5 minutes). This is usually around 10:30pm. I'm about 75% raw and exercise everyday, so that's a heap o' help.

The second I wake up I splash cold water on my face and begin to mumble out loud. Then I open the front door and take a few deep breaths of the crisp morning air. Then it's off to the kitchen to drink 20oz. of green drink.

I found having this routine (or any routine) extremely beneficial to the process. Without it my mind would find it easy to just be confused and go back to bed.

[m00j]

I managed to get myself to 7:30 wakeups every morning, which gave me just enough time to go to the gym before heading to university. I managed to keep this up for about two months before deadlines started to hit and I let myself slide since I was up till 2AM a lot of nights finishing stuff (in hindsight I could have just done it in the morning!).

After that and exams I couldn't get back into it, in fact I actually slid backwards even worse, I often will wake up at 9 feeling so tired that I will hit the snooze button for an hour or two And this has happened for a period of three months.

That’s it, tomorrow I am starting a 6AM routine.

[Hartmut]

My alarm clock goes off at 5am every day, even weekends. If I stand up immediately i have no problem. If I linger in bed it can get really late. And in the last weeks/months I had the tendency to linger more often. I think part of the problem is that it is dark now at 5am. While reading the other posts I remembered that years ago, when I still went to school, I had rigged the lights to come on at the same time as the alarm. I think I will try this again.

[Razo]

I wasn't always an early riser, but I know that when i did decide to become one it was extremely easy and has stuck with me for almost 3 years now (14yo when i started), so without much knowledge of discipline or anyone really helping me (my family still sleeps in regularly), how did i do it?

I can't say there's one magical answer, but looking back, i think that probably the most significant change that allowed me to do this was to plan ahead, like others have said, to begin the day with a handfull of activities that i had planned the night before, and viola. It just motivated me so much that i was doing so much before most people were even awake!

Now days i don't need an alarm, but i remember the very first day i started, I failed, and so i decided on a solution, its nothing extraordinary but here it is. This method requires that you fulfil these actions without fail, i would usually rush to get them done, almost as if i was trying to get a personal best time in accomplishing them.

1. I used my mobile phone as an alarm and put it on top of a bookshelf next to my door, that way, i'd have to literally jump and run out of my bed so as to not only reach it, but turn it off before anyone else heard it.

2. Turn lights on straight away, my lamp, and my computer monitor (even my blinds, even though it was still dark outside.) optional* crank on fast music or radio.

3. Make my bed. sounds stupid, and it still feels like a chore til this day, but it kept me from going back in.

4. Run downstairs and have a good breakfast (its been said that apples work better than caffiene in the mornings)

5. Your gonna really hate this one, i remember i did this even during the winter months. HAVE A COLD SHOWER. its so hard the first time, you do actually eventually get used to it, kinda, but it works like a charm.

If you manage to do all those things quickly (i had a checklist that i ticked while running around to get those things done) then i'm pretty sure there's no way your gonna get back to sleep.

if it seems like too much, then simply just try steps 1 & 5. good luck!

[Shaden]

Steves post about conditioning yourself to have a different sub-conscious reaction to your alarm clock is great. It takes time to implement the new strategy but compared to the amount of time and productivity you get in return its absolutely wonderful. I've currently been implementing his strategy for two days and I'm having wonderful results. I'll carry on till the seventh day and then I'll just coast and I'll see if it has been conditioned as a new habit.

Check out what I mean here - How to get up right away when you're alarm goes off

[Mohit Pawar]

Originally Posted by Razo

I wasn't always an early riser, but I know that when i did decide to become one it was extremely easy and has stuck with me for almost 3 years now (14yo when i started), so without much knowledge of discipline or anyone really helping me (my family still sleeps in regularly), how did i do it?

I can't say there's one magical answer, but looking back, i think that probably the most significant change that allowed me to do this was to plan ahead, like others have said, to begin the day with a handfull of activities that i had planned the night before, and viola. It just motivated me so much that i was doing so much before most people were even awake!

Now days i don't need an alarm, but i remember the very first day i started, I failed, and so i decided on a solution, its nothing extraordinary but here it is. This method requires that you fulfil these actions without fail, i would usually rush to get them done, almost as if i was trying to get a personal best time in accomplishing them.

1. I used my mobile phone as an alarm and put it on top of a bookshelf next to my door, that way, i'd have to literally jump and run out of my bed so as to not only reach it, but turn it off before anyone else heard it.

2. Turn lights on straight away, my lamp, and my computer monitor (even my blinds, even though it was still dark outside.) optional* crank on fast music or radio.

3. Make my bed. sounds stupid, and it still feels like a chore til this day, but it kept me from going back in.

4. Run downstairs and have a good breakfast (its been said that apples work better than caffiene in the mornings)

5. Your gonna really hate this one, i remember i did this even during the winter months. HAVE A COLD SHOWER. its so hard the first time, you do actually eventually get used to it, kinda, but it works like a charm.

If you manage to do all those things quickly (i had a checklist that i ticked while running around to get those things done) then i'm pretty sure there's no way your gonna get back to sleep.

if it seems like too much, then simply just try steps 1 & 5. good luck!

Razo,

Good ideas. All these - cold shower, eating breakfast helps in getting one into action mode. Better if one can create a list of tasks to be tackled for next morning, before going to be bed. These tasks can vary based on one's priority. Reading, writing, excercise, meditation are some options.

This will serve as a big motivation to get out of the bed. Most of the times people sleep-in late because they have no specific plan to tackle when they get up.

[drgrudge]

Although I don't get up at 5 am in the morning, waking up in the morning is not a big issue for me. Even if I have nothing to do (specifically), I get up by 6:30-7 AM. But unlike others I like to work late in the night rather than working early in the morning.

Razo -
The ideas are good, but it seems that you through a lot of "pain" just to wake up even if you're productive after that time.

[Dolazy]

Getting up early requires me to force myself out of bed. This seems to go against the Abraham Hicks recommendation to keep lying there sort of basking for about three to five minutes (Beginning Your Perfect Day).

I wonder how to resolve this conflict. My solution now is to not force myself out of bed anymore and just enjoy my laziness. It is only bad if you believe it to be bad. Of course I need to arrive at work in time, so still I need a better solution.

Ideal would be to get up in time without feeling any difficulty to do so. Maybe this can be manifested with intention manifestation.

[elainevdw]

Originally Posted by Tester

I wonder why exactly 5am? I know that it is good to wake up with sunrise, but sun not always rise at 5am. Moreover, in the USA, Canada and in the most contries in Europe there is so called daylight saving time (DST) when the local time shifts 1 hour forward during summer time. So if you wake up at 5am in the winter, you will have to wake up at 4am in the summer! It is so hard for me to wake up when there is still dark outside...

Oh yeah, Daylight Savings is a biyatch. I took advantage of the fall time change to start getting up an hour earlier (because my body doesn't realize it's an hour earlier) -- but I hate losing that hour in the spring. I also dislike getting up before it's light out, but you just have to do it sometimes. Theoretically, DST helps save energy, so I suppose the system is worth the inconveniences.

I think 5 a.m. is a good time because a lot of Americans work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you get up at 5 a.m., you can work out until 6 a.m., shower and get ready for work and eat breakfast until 7 a.m., do personal things until 7:30 a.m., and then be at work by 8 a.m.

[stevej]

Hmmm, Everyone is reporting on when they get up each morning but i wonder what time at night it is when everyone is getting to sleep? It is easy to get up at 4:00am if you went to bed at 8:00pm.

The real question is how many hours of sleep is adequate? I am getting 8 hours regularly. Often i get less but my body catches up with a longer sleep if i have had a couple of 5-6 hour sleeps in a row.

I do weight training for an hour each 2nd morning and running on the odd mornings. I get to sleep about 8:30-9:00pm and get up between 3:30 and 4:30am. I do not use a clock to wake as i do not need to be out the door until a bit after 5:00am so i can guarantee to be awake naturally in time for this.

I do prefer early starts, i like to get the bulk of my work out the way early before most other people arrive at the office and the phones start ringing, i often think this is an advantage and feel that i have done a days worth of work before most others have even started.

[SeanC]

I found getting up at 5am every day was great for me, but other commitments made it very difficult to keep up. Playing gigs til midnight, taking down all equipment and getting home again meant less than 4 hours sleep, so I was really pushing myself to stay awake. It gave me plenty of time to get all my school work done, prepare healthy meals, plan my day after school, exercise.

How many people have nights out a few times a month while getting up at 5am?

[madgeylou]

seanc, i am in the same boat. i live in new york, and shows dont even *start* till like 10 pm. so if i want to go see a band and still get up with more than 15 minutes getting-ready time before i jump on the train, i'm just SOL the next day.

i also know that i am the type of person who needs a lot of sleep -- if i dont get 8 hours, i may not feel it the next day, but within a few days i will be down for the count and drinking cuppa after cuppa to stay awake during the day.

ah the travails of being a musician and a corporate whore at the same time

[cultivategreatness]

Originally Posted by jaden

I've woken up at 5am for 93 days and counting

That is awesome! Im impressed... and inspired!

T