Tricks to wake up at 5 in the morning

“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” ~Benjamin Franklin

Waking up at 5:00 AM literally changed my life. Whatever little I have achieved till now in my life, I owe it to this single habit of waking up early. Though there are other things that helped me but it all started with this single habit. I have woken up at 5:00 AM since April 30, 2013 (exceptions holiday and weekends when I wake up at 6:30 AM.

There are 2 extremely important factors: HOW and WHY. 

Without any of these, you are bound now to get the best of the results. I’ll go into details with each of them but first, let us set some context.

The most common question people ask is How much Sleep do we need? As for a 25 year, old human being, you will need an average of 6-8 hours of good sleep as per the sleep foundation.

The most important thing to remember for getting up early is to sleep on time. As said just above we need average 6-8 hours of sleep for a 25-year-old and hence to get up at 5 you need to sleep in between 9-11 PM for at least 80% of the weeknight.

WHY?

In any journey wanting something that is not clear or not important enough in your life will end up in disappointment. As we say where there is will there is a way and it only comes when you believe something important.

So, WHY do you want to wake up in the morning?

There are only two choices with us: You have to or You want to

If you “have to” , it is really straightforward because “when you don’t have a choice… it’s easy” as it has to be done. Mostly the decision that comes from top whether it is personal or professional.

Some examples: A project deadline, reach office by 10, call to the family once a day etc.

Many people follow this route, still, it requires a lot of willpower and ‘have to’s’ are something which is not recommended for a balanced life.

If you “want to” then it must be something that gets you out of the bed, out of your comfy sheets and into the dark, cold world early in the morning and hence it is easy for us.

Most of the people I know that wake up at 5AM are those who have a sense of fulfillment when they wake up, such as, creating something unique in the world, people who want some me time to do better during the day.

This is precisely why great leaders like to start the day ahead of everybody else. They like to be in charge (of their own life and company) and they are the ones that send out orders to be carried out being proactive and not reacting at what other are doing.

Wake up times of some famous & productive people: 

• Robert Iger (CEO Disney) –4:30 AM
• Tim Cook (CEO Apple) –4:30 AM
• Howard Schultz (CEO Starbucks) –5 AM
• Andrea Jung (CEO AVON) –4:00 AM
• Richard Branson (CEO Virgin) –5:45 AM

If you don’t have some burning desire that gets fulfilled in that morning time for me it’s getting fit and hence going to gym, you won’t wake up early, NEVER. AND there is one more thing that needs to be met at the same time: You can’t find that time anywhere else during the day!  

Chances are that you burn the midnight oil on some things that interest you (a new business, some interesting reading, or anything else) but this is not productive because you are worn out and you put your interests LAST!

A better idea is to START the day with the things that are most fulfilling and to use your best energy. Early in the morning, that time can’t be taken away from you in any way as not one is calling or texting nor do you have any meetings.

So, start your day with YOURSELF so that you can take care of others from a resourceful state and not from a state where you don’t have enough for yourself.

HOW?

Once you know WHY you want to do it, it becomes a lot easier to make it happen in an easier way that fulfills your needs.

The best strategy that I think is set small targets and do it as we move ahead. I used to say If I wake up at 7:00 AM, not tomorrow I will wake up at 6:55 AM and so every day 5 min early. Some may say it will take days to reach 5:00 AM but I see it a slow and permanent change that is here to stay with us and hence we make a change in our habit.

And now some maths:

• If I was getting up at 7:00 AM. I decide to get up 5 min early than the previous So, it will take 24 days (120 min/ 5 min) to reach 5 AM.
• If the waking up time is 9:00 AM today, we may take 48 days to do the same but see the difference it will make to your life.
• 2/ 4 hours gained of the highest productivity.

The trick to waking up early in the morning is going to bed early! People generally start with enthusiasm and will wake up directly at 5 for 2-3 days and will become sleep deprived and hence their productivity decreases.

Golden rules for a great sleep: 

• Try and sleep for most hours in between 10:00 PM – 5:00 AM as we get the best quality deep sleep here.
• Make sure you sleep at least 6 hours before waking up.
• As per circadian sleep cycle, you should sleep in multiple of 90 and hence it is better to sleep 6 hours than 6.5 hours and it’s best to sleep 7.5 then 7 hours.
• Try to get to bed at the same time every day to set up the body clock and a routine.
• Spend some time in the sun during the day to balance your melatonin level to regulate your sleep cycles.
• Have dinner or exercise 4 hours before your good night sleep.
• Try and sleep with lights closed and room temperature maintained at a constant level to have a good deep sleep.
• Don’t go to bed angry.
• Make sleep a priority in the life.

Golden rules for waking up at 5AM:

• First decide why you want to wake up, how always figures out itself.
• Get out of bed as soon as the alarm hits
• Call your buddy (in my case it’s my mom) and talk for 5 min to get out of the zone.
• Wake up 5 min earlier each day till you reach your goal.
• Find a morning routine that you look forward to every night
• Sleep at least 6 hours in a day at a stretch.
• If something breaks your routine don’t make it a reason to let, go another day.
• Make a strong commitment to giving yourself quality time first thing in the morning.

These are only some ideas and strategies that I have found out and have tested on myself since last 4 years.