We have grown up hearing, ‘Early bird gets the worm’ or ‘The morning hour has gold in its mouth.’ But how many of us get up at the first ring of the morning alarm? At least, I didn’t for a long period of time. And then I took this 21-Day Challenge of waking up early and read The 5 AM Revolution by Dan Luca. 
Honestly, waking up early and that too with a spring in my step was hard for me, initially. But I persisted and when I took stock of the amount of work and things I accomplished when I got out of bed early, made me a believer.
Let me share my 7 Reasons to Wake Up Early…
Reason #1 : Gives a Head Start – I have realized that the morning is a critical time that sets the tone of the rest of the day. A good beginning makes a good ending. Working on important assignments or completing a project report or writing a blog post is something that I do first thing in the morning. The idea is to prioritize high impact tasks as compared to simple easy tasks and accomplishing these gives a mental boost.
Reason #2 : Better Planning – I find morning time to be the best time to plan and give some serious thought to issues, situations or tasks at hand. It’s a good time to get organized for the day or week too.
Reason #3 : Increases Productivity – With to-do list in place, in the quiet of the early morning and a fresh mind, a lot is accomplished and that too at a faster pace.
Reason #4 : Better Timeliness – Waking up early gives more time to prepare and be on time for work, engagements, appointments. There is no mad rush to get ready and get tired even before the start of the day. The best is skipping the peak traffic hours and reaching the destination on time.
Reason #5 : Time for Your Own Self – There’s time for your self. I love having my cup of tea while reading the newspaper in absolute peace. Sitting in the balcony and watching the early morning life and see the world wake up is something that I like about my mornings.
Reason #6 : Less Stress : Starting the day earlier, reduces the stress as the rush of the morning chores is eliminated. And this adds an incredible amount of positivity and optimism in our day and life.
Reason #7 : Better Sleep : Going to bed earlier and waking up earlier gives me better sleep. It is believed that this way our body is more in tune with the earth’s circadian rhythms, which offers more restorative sleep.
Are you a late riser or an early riser? How do you spend your mornings?
Linking this to the second edition of BAR-A-THON by Blog-A-Rhythm
Theme – Seven
Day 3
41 Responses
Being organised is surely the key Sipa – I also am trying very hard to be conscious of being in sync with the clock for finishing morning tasks and be on time for things. I sit on the cocmp and dang – where do 3 hours fly by I have no clue….
Oh, internet is a big time sucker. And if you are on social media, which is always the case, time fliesin the blonk of an eye!
I really really want to do this and I can imagine how much of a headstart you can have by waking an hour early, but I have been so lazy. I need your determination… Let me attempt this one more time 🙂
I know what you mean. Waking up early is truly hard for most of us. But once you do it for a while, the body clock kicks in and you get into the habit. Good luck to you, Raj. 🙂
I love this post because these are the exact reasons I wake up early 🙂 I’ve always woken up at 5.30 or so but now that’s become 4.45 since I started my meditation habit and I am loving the peace of the mornings even more. I start with some journaling, checking in on comments on my blog posts, planning the schedule for the day ahead- work/home wise- and sipping my tea in absolute peace.
It’s a wonderful habit to cultivate and I find that I am sleeping better and hey, waking up without an alarm these days 🙂 Definite plus. Body is more rested.
Hello from an early riser to another!! 🙂
True, waking up early gives such a head start and so much can be accomplished that too with absolute peace and calm. Thanks for sharing your experience, Shailaja 🙂
I’ve been an early riser all summers, except winters when my day starts tad late – 6:30 ish. But this summer has been tad challenging as I have been unsuccessful in breaking the habit of waking up by 5-5:30 AM. This despite giving the 21 day challenge a shot.
I really need to get cracking on this and I think your post is a timely reminder.
http://natashamusing.com/2017/06/life-pie-barathon/
6.30 is early for winters. 😀
Good luck to you, Natasha. Cheers!
I am a early riser by force. Guess that makes me a late riser though I do see the good in all your arguments there. So need to do this. I guess I know how your post has been going up as soon as I create the thread while mine is always one of the last on day 2 :-).
Yeah, as moms of school going kids we do have to get up early. We dont have a choice. With AG in the boarding school, I got lax for a while but got back to the routine of waking early.
You noticed that!! 😀
Good one, Shilpa. I’m still a slow starter and not at my best in the mornings. But, what you say is true. Reasons #5 & 6 have been compelling for me.
It’s the same for my sister too. She can work late, but mornings are not her cup of tea. Thanks for dropping by, Simon, good to see you here!
I am learning the art of waking up early and I do see what you mean. It is quite difficult now but I will get past this. I agree with all the above reasons.
Wishing you the very best in your endeavors, Ranjini. I am sure, you can do it! Cheers 🙂
Yes, I try a lot to wake up early but can’t! But whenever I do, I experience all of the mentioned benefits. The day seems more productive and so much seems to be achieved in a less amount of time!
Cheers
These very reasons push me to wake up early. I am able to do a lot more when I wake up early and that’s a big one for me!
I am a morning lover shilpa, enjoy the early hours and as rightly put by you, its a great way to start the day, everything goes well for me when I rise early – I go for walk, do a few yoga stretches, practice gratitude and spend some time just focussing on my breath and eat my breakfast mindfully and the whole day is so well planned. The day I get up late:) everything is challenge to complete and feel stressed too..
Agree with you. Sometimes, I do give in to the temptation of sleeping for a few more minutes and that derails the whole day. Thanks for sharing your daily rituals, Genevive!
Great points and incentive to have an early start Shilpa. I can never sleep beyond 7 am even on a holiday. I generally rise by 6.30am and am in control of my day’s targets. So long as one is able to manage all tasks within the day, I guess it is fine to rise at a time that makes you feel refreshed.
Yes, we need to do what works best for us. 🙂
There is an Irish proverb. If you have a reputation as an early riser, you can sleep until noon. Just trying to be humorous.
LOL 😀 Yes, one can do that since the perception about him has been formed!
I am not at all a morning person and only wake up early because I have a school-going kid though your reasons look very valid and inspiring.
Yes, with school going kids, we dont have a choice 😀
Thanks Pooja. Glad that this post resonates with you!
Brilliantly put indeed, waking up early has more advantages than not and those points you highlighted are valid reasons. Great and timely post, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for dropping by and sharing your perspective 🙂
I get up around 6.30 and that is early enough for me. 🙂 And on weekends, I really would like to sleep in late (which is max 7-7.30 for me).
Oh yes, we need to do things that work best for us. 🙂
I am an early riser. Though it will be okay for me to wake up by 5.30 or 6 to get the things ready to send D school but still I prefer waking up by 5 so as to have quiet time with myself, to give freedom to my thoughts to wander so that they don’t demand attention during the day. I am a slow coach in general and hate to rush. Increased productivity and less stress is a bonus.
Agree with you, waking up with peace and calm all around and there’s just you and your thoughts, is the biggest motivator for me as well. It is so much better than just waking up, jumping out of bed, and going straight into your work/chores.
I am a morning person so getting up early isn’t a problem for me. I love it! I find I am at my most creative in the morning so that’s when I do my writing and other creative projects. Love these tips and I so agree. I love being alone with my own thoughts, sipping on coffee and not being rushed.
The only problem is my sons who love to stay out late and then sleep late unless they’re working. They are on a totally different schedule all together! They’re getting revved up in the evening at 9pm when I’m ready for bed. YAWN!
Oh, I totally get that. My son when on holidays from his boarding school is just like that. He sleeps late and gets up late. For some days, I let him be but after a few days, we have this eternal tussle of ‘5 more minute’ 😀
Oh yeah! I do remember the first time I woke up at 5 am. I think it was for an exam or something? But I clearly remember looking at the clock at 7 am, and then realising that I had added two more hours to my day by waking up early. And I did feel that time flew at a slower pace, only because I woke up early that day. (I may have been single digit age when I thought this thought, pardon my ignorance of the fixed nature of time!)
I know what you mean, Mithila. Somehow time moves at a sedate pace in the mornings and a lot more is accomplished in the early hours.
I am an early morning person but I need 15 mins to get up. I don’t jump out of the bed all excited but I get to that stage after 20 mins of getting up. Like you – I love the days I start early 🙂
I should make my sister read this. She is just like you.
I can get into action immediately after opening my eyes. LOL 😀
Earliest I can get up is 6:30. Thanks to kiddo’s school. While I am was not fond of rising early, I have started to like it now. 🙂
Oh yes, for moms of school going kids, waking up early is a compulsion. 🙂
Can’t disagree. It is absolutely true an early rise gives you an extra day , and you can feel it.
Agree. If you wake up early, you get more done in a day.
Thanks for dropping by Anil. Good to see you here!
I sleep till late but recently realized the importance of waking up early where once can do so many things in an efficient manner, reading, writing, work and even watch some TV. Cheerz!