Join the 5 a.m. club: Benefits of waking up early

How often do you find yourself wishing the day had 26 or 30 hours, so you could have enough time to do everything you plan? Most people struggle with adding more things on the daily task list, because there simply isn’t enough time for everything – especially if you’re working a normal 9-5 job. Most of us hit the snooze button and wake up a tad bit late, rushing into the day, without first spending some precious time for ourselves.

Being productive after 6 o’clock in the evening is very hard. You’re already tired, both physically and mentally, after 8-10 hours of work. It has been scientifically proven that success has a direct relation to how you spend your time in the morning. Lots of entrepreneurs, CEOs and high performers have adopted this way of life to boost productivity, get better results and live a better and healthier life. Preparing ahead of the day, focusing on yourself, reading a book, meditating and basically taking time off before you spend your energy for the day is important to get ahead in the rat race.

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, is one of the people who wake up at 4:30 every morning. He is joined by Robert Iger from Disney, while Ursula Burns or Richard Branson also wake up around 5:00. The first detailed outlook on the 5 AM club was drafted by Robin Sharma, who stated that the hours from 5:00 AM to 8:00 AM are the most valuable we have, for a good number of reasons:

•  There are no interruptions during these hours, since most of the people are sleeping.
•  It’s very easy to plan your day ahead and get work done on the most important tasks
•  You feel refreshed and confident, ready to tackle whatever life throws at you
•  Your work become proactive rather than reactive – work smarter, not harder!

These are just a few of the benefits one could have by waking up earlier every morning. It takes in average 3 months to get a new habit up and running. One way you can try to achieve this is waking up 30 minutes earlier every week. You will see benefits from your first week and the amazement of how many things you can get done will keep you motivated. Good luck!

Photo Credits