Can we skip to the good part?
In this blog post, ‘Waking up at 5am – is it the solution for busy entrepreneurs?’. We will be covering:
02. You set the tone for the day
05. You can finish work earlier!
Click on any of the above links to direct you to the exact section you’re looking for!
5am….
If you’re anything like me, the only time I EVER plan to wake up close to 5am is on the rare occasion that I have a flight booked in, or maybe an event that requires me to get there early.
Early mornings for me have never been easy, I have forever been jealous of those people that just stroll out of bed, refreshed and ready for the day. My husband being one of them!
I’m not saying I lay in bed all morning; you’ll find me up at what I consider a very reasonable time of 7.30-8am. To me – 5am still feels like the middle of the night!
However, everywhere I look lately, I see members of the 5am morning club. All across social media, these productive boss babes are getting up at 5am and conquering the world. And I have to say, I’ve been feeling pretty curious about the benefits – and if it’s worth it, is it realistic to make this my reality too?
So, I did the research and spoke to a few 5am’ers to find out if there are really any benefits to waking up so early! And I have to say I’m pretty impressed, so impressed that you might even find me giving this a go!
Keep reading to find out why:
01. You have time to yourself
How much quality time do you get to spend by yourself? Whether you wake up late or on time, most of us spend our mornings rushing. Rushing to get ready, rushing to get to work on time, get the kids to school, make our first meeting – whatever it might be!
Then we go about our busy day, come home, have dinner and by the evening time we are either spending time with our favourite people, busy with life or usually feeling pretty wiped.
Now I love my job and I love my partner – but the thought of having a few hours to myself every morning, sounds like bliss! For me, those extra couple of hours would likely be spent being creative and working on my business rather than client work! But for you that might be time spent having a cup of coffee in bed, reading a book, going for a walk, or catching up on your favourite podcast. Whatever it is – that first hour of the day is yours to spend as you please!
02. You set the tone for the day
Have you ever woken up late – if you say no then you my friend are either a liar or the definition of perfection! For those normal ladies out there, waking up late means rushing into the bathroom, downing a cup of coffee, throwing on anything to wear and starting work as soon as possible. How are you feeling by the time your workday begins? If you’re like me, waking up late leaves me feeling awful! My day feels hectic and unscheduled. Exhausted, I miss breakfast – by 10am I’m starving and shattered. Not to mention a bit miserable.
By waking up late, I’ve set myself up for a day of chaos! Which is far from how I want my day to be.
Now, how do those mornings go when you’re right on time? Maybe you’ve food prepped, you’ve hit the gym, gone for a walk – or you’re just simply not in a rush!
You feel amazing!
Now imagine that every day. I’m fully prepared for the fact that this waking up at 5am thing might be hard, but I know that once I’m out of bed and I’ve had my caffeine hit – I’ll love knowing that my morning is going to be calm because I have plenty of time to prepare, choose what to wear, enjoy a good breakfast – all before my busy day starts.
03. Extra time for planning
I usually put aside half an hour each morning for planning, but in all honesty – during that time I’m already focused on other things, whether it be chatting away to my hubby or trying to organise my lovely team for the day. By the time the workday starts, my planning schedule has already been influenced by whoever I’ve spoken to, or whatever has come up in my emails.
But – with an extra hour or two in the morning, you can plan your day, without thinking about everyone else! What do you need to get done today and what’s going to work for you? It might even be as simple as planning your meals – I mean how much time do you waste daily deciding what to have for lunch? Opening all the cupboards, seeing what’s in the fridge. By the time you’ve actually created lunch your designated lunch hour is over.
Waking up at 5am means extra planning time! And who doesn’t LOVE planning – well, maybe not everyone but I’ll admit it’s personally been a lifelong hobby of mine.
Being in the 5am club means extra hours of quiet time, whether it’s writing in your planner – deciding what you’re going to have for lunch & dinner, what you need to get done today, & who you need to speak to. I’m already feeling excited!
04. Early morning exercise
If you ever get a chance to do some early morning exercise, you know how great it feels! I’m not going to tell you I do this every day, because I’d be lying! But whenever I do set aside for early morning exercise, I feel AMAZING.
Whether it’s just going for a quiet walk, taking the time to clear my head, a 15-minute light Pilates session at home, or going for a hardcore heart pumping sesh at the gym. If I’ve ever done exercise in the morning, I feel great! It makes me feel accomplished, good about myself and pretty darn proud. But sadly, more often than not – I just don’t have the time.
A 5am wake up gives you plenty of time to incorporate this into your morning routine. I even did a bit of research and working out early in the morning not only makes you feel great mentally, but it also improves your metabolism – meaning you burn extra calories in the day. That’s a yes from me!
Remember, if you do get up early and exercise – do what’s best for YOU! Exercise doesn’t have to mean an hour of cardio or hitting the gym – it could be doing 10 mins of yoga, a bit of stretching or just taking a 15-minute walk in the fresh air.
05. You can finish work earlier!
I think I probably should have added this as my first reason why waking up at 5am sounds like a great idea!
Who wants to finish work at 6pm when you could finish at 3pm?? I am extremely lucky to have a flexible business which allows me to finish work whenever I like – but if I’ve got a busy schedule, I will often be working until about 6pm – later than I’d like.
Waking up at 5am, means we can spend more time being productive in the day, so that when it comes to about 3pm, we can start winding down or even finish our workday! Meaning extra time with family or a chance to focus on our other hobbies and interests. Maybe you’ve got kids? Finishing early in the day means you get to spend that time after school with them, instead of having to return to your desk!
What do you think?
Does it sound like waking up at 5am is all it’s cracked up to be? The number of benefits are hard to ignore. So, if you want to give it a go, I’ve put together some tips to help you through:
Focus on what you want to do, not what you have to do
Determine why you want these extra hours each day and what you’re going to use them for – it doesn’t have to be the same thing every day, but it does need to be something that’s going to benefit you and encourage you to get out of bed!
Set a routine
Have a morning routine that you follow as soon as you wake up, so that your body doesn’t have to work hard straight away.
Maybe you wake up, have a glass of water and write in your journal or have a cup of coffee and unwind for 10 minutes. (I’ve started doing 15 minutes of Pilates in the morning! – check out the link) Whatever it might be, just try to keep your first few actions of the day simple so that you don’t have to do any thinking for those first 10 – 15 minutes.
Get rid of the snooze button
Now – because we KNOW we don’t HAVE to get up at 5am – the temptation to hit that snooze button is going to be sky high. But as soon as we start, it’s a downwards spiral to snoozing ourselves until 7am.
Put your alarm somewhere that you have to get up to reach it, if you have to get up to snooze it, you’re more likely to stay up.
Get a good night’s sleep!
This is without doubt the most essential part of waking up early! We are doing this for our health, and that means we still need a full night’s sleep. What time do you go to bed now? Decide how many hours of sleep you need to feel good and go to bed at the right time to make sure you get them.
But, what if you set your alarm for 5am and you’re left feeling miserable, exhausted and your body hates you? Is it still worth doing… of course not!
We are all different.. for some of us, 5am just isn’t attainable. If 6 or 7am is more attainable – roll with that! The whole purpose of trying to wake up early, is to feel good! If waking up at 5am is draining you, try 6am? Your morning routine needs to work for you!
If you’re a new member of the 5am club, get in touch with your experience – I’d love to know!
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