Writers especially say that in the morning, when the mind is still sort of in a dream state, is the best time to get writing/editing done. You write out words effortlessly in the quiet of your room, the sun barely peaks through the clouds and trees outside. The clickety-clack of the keyboard is all you hear and soon, you produce 500-1000 words a day all before everyone else is awake. You feel satisfied as you get up out of your chair. You know you have done more this morning than most do in a day.
A lot of articles have been written about the benefits of waking up earlier. One major benefit is that you can get started early on work (like writing Medium articles) and be done by the time most people wake up.
But how do you do it? I’ll admit that for me it is easy as I am naturally an “early bird.” An early bird is someone who does not struggle as much to wake up in the morning. The opposite is a “night owl.” A “night owl” is someone who prefers to work through the evening and into the night. Most people are night owls, especially in the modern west where “prime time” is still the time of the night when there is an uptick in activity. Major cities are known for “never sleeping” which is not true because we all need to sleep. Now, some people can still be productive on 4-5 hours of sleep. But the vast majority of us really do need those 7-8 hours of sleep. Medieval monks were known for sleeping six hours but the 18 waking hours were not always spent in hard exertion. Most of us are not medieval monks. So how do you wake up early (or at least earlier)?
1. Have a reason
First, make sure you have a reason for waking up early. If you wake up early and then you just waste time scrolling social media, watching TikTok, or binge eating what is the point? Are you going to work out? Are you going for a run? Will you write a Medium article? A blog post? Why do you want to wake up early? Do you have a long commute? Whatever the reason, make sure it is clear in your mind. Say to yourself, “I am going to wake up early because I want…” and then state the reason. Saying “I want” is powerful because there is something in your inner self that will not oppose your rational self in wanting to get what you want. So make sure you are waking up early with a purpose.
2. Go to sleep early
This second way may be difficult if you have children. But it is entirely possible to get it done. Do not let your children decide their own bedtime. Train them in going to bed early and waking up. My mom did this with four kids and we all understood that our reason for going to bed early and waking up early was to go to “work” whether that was go to school for us older kids or to daycare for the little ones. Find a way, be the adult.
If you live alone as I do then this should be no problem. You can set an alarm on your phone or other device telling you that there is one hour left until bedtime. Then 30 minutes. I used to do this when my sleep was out of whack for a while due to work and it helped me to regulate when I would start to wind down. Now all you have to do when the alarm goes off is start to wind down. This brings us to the next point.
3. Create a sleep routine
Whatever your bedtime and wake times are make sure you signal to your body that is time to go to sleep. If you have a set time, make sure you are strict with yourself and actually shut down screens on your phone, laptop, computer, tablet, etc. I start reading a book about 30-60 minutes before going to bed. I brush my teeth, say my prayers, and then get in bed. That’s it. It does not have to be complicated.
Final considerations
Make sure your room is dark and cool. That is something that is essential. Your alarm is set now to wake you up at 4:30 or 5 or whatever. Do not hit the snooze button. A trick for that is that I place my alarm (which is on my tablet) in another room and then I either put it inside a backpack or inside a desk drawer so that I have to fumble a little bit in getting it out. This helps me to get out of bed and then calm myself into waking up. This is important. Do not wake up grumpy. Let the alarm sound for like thirty seconds, take a deep breath and then slowly sit up, stretch, stand up, and then walk to turn off your alarm.
One more trick if you have trouble falling asleep or falling back asleep if you wake up in the middle of the night is the practice of Non-sleep deep rest (NSDR). If you look on Youtube for this you will find several scripts for NSDR that help you induce calm and relaxation in order to fall asleep.
Conclusion
The most important thing to remember is having a reason to wake up. It is like having a deadline for a project or a goal you have. While the reason does not have to be urgent, it does help if there is some urgency.