If you do some homework on the subject, you’ll find that many successful people get up early. It’s simply ingrained in them. If we want to be successful, we need to be working when others are not.
It’s like the classic sales quote: “Somewhere, right now, someone is selling in your territory while you’re not. When you compare commissions his or her check will be larger”
Here’s some of the benefits you can get from doing it, and, as a bonus, here’s how to actually do it. It's time to wake up and smell the coffee!
Top 10 reasons to get up early every day:
10. Learn. You can browse seven websites in a row (news, news, gossip, financial, gossip, sports, weather) or read a chapter in a book or an article without being interrupted by a single e-mail. You’re now smarter for your entire day.
9. This early, it really is all about you. You get a few minutes of pure “you” time. For me, it’s waking up and making coffee. While I’m doing that, I can pet Theo and Luke (Our German Shepherds), and not in just a “scratch behind the ears once because I’m late” way. I can sit with them as I drink my first cup of joe and enjoy the calming effect that a pet has on you. I have no doubt this helps to set my mood for the day.
8. We’re not as big as we think we are. In Portland
7. Opportunity to express gratitude—and feel happy. Gratitude fosters happiness, which is why some people keep a gratitude journal. Every morning, you can write out at least five things you're thankful for. In times of stress, pause and reflect on 10 things you're grateful for.
6. You’re automatically early. Getting up even a half-hour early eliminates the “rush” that comes with leaving the house in the morning. Get up earlier, and you’re calmer. You remember everything you need to take. You walk out without being stressed. This leads to a calmer day. Also, studies have shown that being on time is one thing that good leaders master, as well as demand. Want to be on time? Get up earlier.
5. Easier commute. I don’t have much of a regular commute, but for years I did. Get up early, get to the office, and your commute is done before traffic goes to hell. Easiest commute ever!
4. Be a player. Be a sales maker. Want to meet an important contact or prospective customer. Try scheduling 7 a.m. breakfasts with them. Why? Because they know that the demanding schedule they have won’t allow for lunches. What did Gordon Gekko say? “Lunch? Aw, come on, Marty. Lunch is for wimps!” He was right.
3. A chance to make real progress. If ask yourself every morning, “What are the top three most important tasks that I will complete today?” Prioritize your day accordingly and do not go to sleep until the Top 3 are complete. You then feel better because you made progress on the things that matter most to you.
2. Do something you “never have the time for.” When do you think I write a lot of these blog posts? When do you think I write training materials? Review new software? Write a friend? Study? Meditate?
[Cue the drum roll]….and, the No. 1 reason to get up early?
# 1 Change the world. Thirty minutes can change the world. Getting up early each day can truly make all the difference in your life. Imagine getting up early and just doing a few of the things listed above. Would you be more productive? Make more money? Reach more people? Get more important things done? I bet you would.
That was the “why.” Here’s the “how.”
Top six ways to make sure you rise up early.
6. Drink. Keep a giant glass of water by the bed. As soon as the alarm goes off, before you shut it off, drink the entire glass of water. Water is the most awesome wake-up tool for your body ever. Drink the water, it opens up brain cells, rejuvenates your eyes, allows you to come out of sleep. Drink water!
5. Move. Set the alarm clock somewhere you can’t reach it. Get out of bed to shut it off (after you’ve drunk your water), and you’re up and mobile.
4. Feed something. Get a pet. Seriously. Feed the pet one damn time at 5 a.m., and you’ll never sleep through 5 a.m. again for the entire life of the pet. Trust me on this.
3. As Yoda said, “Do or do not, there is no try.” Don’t think, just do. It’s amazing what we can rationalize at 5 a.m. “Oh, I’ll just sleep for an extra hour, then do the treadmill at double the speed for half the time so I can still make it into the office.” You know that’s B.S., you know you’re not going to, and you know there will be no working out for you today. Don’t think. Just get your bones out of bed. Think later.
2. Get out! The bedroom is for sleeping and romance. Once you’re awake, get out of it. Go to the kitchen for your coffee. Go to the living room or your home office for your computer You’ve slept. Now get out of the bedroom.
1. Sleep. The No.1 way to get up earlier? Get to sleep earlier. I know— I’m blaspheming here. How dare I waste a perfectly good night when I could go out and be a drunken fool, or go to a boring party? I like going to sleep earlier, because I know what it’s going to do for me on the flip side. I still go out, but not as much. Remember when you were a kid, and your parents made you go to sleep early on a school night? There’s a reason for that. Go to sleep earlier. Countless studies have been conducted showing that lack of sleep is hurting us, causing us to lose money, hell, even making us ugly! Chances are, not sleeping enough is the root of a lot of our problems.
All the success!
Peter Mclees
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