Updated Feb 2023

Waking up at 5am the proven way to epic success | Success Savvy Mom | successsavvymom.com

As mentioned in part 1 of this article, there are many benefits to waking up early, such as increased productivity and developing discipline. (Read the full article here, I speak of both pros and cons of waking at 5 AM)

So in this part, I want to address a bit more the different personalities that we have, and whether or not waking up early is right for you. And if you decide to try, then good for you! I’ll give you some tips on how to go about it to pretty much ensure success.

Is waking up early for everyone?

I am personally a huge partisan of waking up early – but I also firmly believe that it IS NOT for everyone. Studies show people have distinct, innate tendencies to be either a morning or a night person. If you’re a night owl, then waking up early is not going to be beneficial for you. Chances are, you might even do more harm than good.

BUT. Waking up early doesn’t HAVE to mean waking up at 5 AM, right?

If you think this is something you might want to try but are not a morning person, how about trying to wake up earlier? Instead of waking up at 10 AM, wake up at 9:30, then at 9:00, then at 8:30. That’s already an hour and a half extra in the day!

Now, the benefits of walking up earlier may not be the same as waking up at 5 AM. The rest of the world is awake as well at 8:30. BUT you will gain more time in the day compared to your usual day! Worth trying it if you ask me!

And if you are a morning person? Then try it! If waking up at 5 AM seems a little too ambitious to you, try waking up 15 minutes before you usually do, then move it to 30 minutes before, and see how it feels!

I’ve been doing this for about 2 months now (confession: I don’t wake up at 5 AM because I’m not sure I’d survive the day yet, but I do wake up between 5:45 and 6 AM every single morning! Am working my way towards 5 😉 ) and it has been amazing. I get up and work out for about an hour first thing, then take a shower and have breakfast when the rest of my family gets up.

I feel amazing throughout the day! I feel pumped and super positive. I don’t see myself going back anytime soon!

So now you may be wondering:

Am I a morning person, or an evening person?

But that seems like sort of a silly question, right? We all know who we are deep down, don’t we?

Well… It’s sort of a well-established fact that we lie to ourselves on a regular basis. So you may be thinking right now that you’re an evening person because you hate going to bed before midnight.

But this doesn’t actually necessarily mean that you’re an evening person. So to know for sure, you need to be honest with yourself when answering these questions:

What do you do in the evening? How do you feel?

And what I mean by this is: are you productive in the evenings? Is that the time when you can sit down at the computer, long after everyone else is asleep, and just type away for hours? Or do you just lounge on the couch and binge-watch Game Of Thrones?

Not that that’s a bad thing. But if that’s the case, then you’re not really an evening person. Someone who’s a genuine night owl will find themselves to be super productive in the evenings and find that their energy levels are still high and their ability to concentrate is as well.

Unless that’s the case for you, then you’re just someone who doesn’t want the day to end 🙂

So be honest with yourself: are you truly a night owl, or do you just not like going to bed early?

If your honest answer is night owl, then you might not be able to change that to get up early. BUT, if deep down you know that’s not the case, how about trying to wake up just a few minutes earlier than you usually do tomorrow, and see how it feels?

Related: Part 1: Waking Up At 5 AM: The Proven Way To Epic Success? (addresses pros and cons of waking up early)

Related: Read about how to set goals for yourself as an entrepreneur! You can use it to help you wake up early 🙂

If you want to be able to wake up at 5 AM feeling rested, you need to have a great night’s sleep. And a great night’s sleep hinges on having a clear mind so you feel rested! So if you’re interested in waking up at 5 AM, download this “declutter your mind” checklist to help ensure your success 🙂

Tips to wake up early

Waking up at 5 AM (or even just earlier than you’re used to) is going to be a challenge, no matter how motivated you are. But by taking a few simple steps, you can make it much easier on yourself!

Don’t go to bed earlier the first evening

It seems counter-intuitive, but if you go to bed earlier than you’re used to on the night before you decide to get up early, you’ll just lie in bed frustrated and unable to get to sleep. You’ll wake up exhausted the next morning, convinced that this just isn’t for you.

So go to bed at your usual time, and get up early the next day. You’ll be tired, but then the next evening you’ll be ready for bed early – and so the magic begins!

Go to bed early the following evenings

This is when you begin to see positive results – when you start to get into a healthy rhythm and go to bed early enough that you still get about 8 hours of sleep every night. Almost all of the super successful people that talk about waking up early state specifically that they still get plenty of sleep every night – this is not about depriving yourself of sleep! Be very conscious of that, and don’t let yourself slip into that.

Start the day with something you love

This is what I find is the most helpful if you’re struggling with waking up at 5 AM. And it’s quite obvious, yet very powerful: start the day with something you love doing.

How likely are you to want to jump out of your warm bed into your cold room if all you have to look forward to is replying to all those pesky business emails that you hate? Not very, right?

But what if you started the day with a workout that leaves you feeling pumped and energized? Or a run in the forest, while everything is still asleep and peaceful? Or simply with a delicious cup of coffee and a great book that you never have time to read? Or with sitting at your computer and writing that novel you’ve been working on for years, but never have the time to finish?

The way you start your day has a huge impact on if you even want to start it at all – so consider how you start it, and whether you should change it!

Smile when your alarm rings

This is going to sound silly to many of you, but I’m a huge fan of doing this. When my alarm goes off, the first thing I do is smile. Research shows that the simple act of smiling can make you feel happier (read one such article here). So why not try it?

It’s such an easy way to get a great start to your day – and so often the mood you start in sets the tone for the day!

Remember

This article is NOT to promote sleep deprivation – I myself suffered for a long time from a sleeping disorder, and I will NEVER give anyone the advice to sacrifice sleep and well-being.

Sleep is vital, and despite what some super successful people say about being able to live on 6 hours of sleep, that is NOT the case for everyone. We are not all equal in our lives. Chances are that the people saying that either don’t have children, or it’s their wives who wake up in the middle of the night to soothe them after their nightmare. So if you’ve got kids, then remember that you’ve got to make sure you’ve got the energy to deal with the day!

So DO NOT sacrifice your sleep.

But I DO believe in the many benefits of getting up early. Once again, if waking up at 5 AM is not for you, then try waking up just 15 minutes earlier – that’s already a quarter of an hour more time for you! It adds up to over 90 hours in a year, which is almost 4 full, 24-hour days!! That’s an insane amount of extra time, simply by getting up 15 minutes earlier each day!!

And I especially believe in the discipline that waking up early builds. You become the master of yourself, and you take control of your life back! This, my friends, is where I believe the true secret to success, lies – in discipline and taking control of your life back.

If you want to be able to wake up at 5 AM feeling rested, you need to have a great night’s sleep. And a great night’s sleep hinges on having a clear mind so you feel rested! So if you’re interested in waking up at 5 AM, download this “declutter your mind” checklist to help ensure your success 🙂

What about you? Do you wake up early, or is it something that gives you the hives when you just imagine it? I’d love to hear, so leave a comment!

Hope to talk soon, and in the meantime, take care!
Jen

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