I wish I could find you all a copy of this article I read the other day. It was a list of things we can learn from 20 big name CEOs who get up really early. For each person, there was a description of what time they get up and what they do with the time between then and when the rest of the world gets in to the office.
What I learned was that they all work too much. Most of them got up at like 4AM to check email, read reports, etc. Some did this while on a treadmill, which apparently makes it ok. A lot of them followed this up with working incredibly late, leaving the office at 8 or 9 PM. Apparently, the lesson is that if we all get up before the sun, we can overwork ourselves to death and burn out as quickly as humanly possible.
I’ve actually become quite a fan of getting up a little earlier in the morning, despite years of decidedly being “not a morning person.” I’m not alone in this – I’ve seen it written about on Time Management Ninja, Zen Habits, and other great blogs. The difference, with both my mindset and theirs, is that we’re not advocating getting up insanely early in order to squeeze in as much work as possible. There are better ways to use your time in the mornings.
First, and I have written about this before, don’t sacrifice your sleep. If you want to get up half an hour earlier, try to get to bed half an hour earlier. The importance of getting a good night’s sleep is well documented and I’m not about to tell you to sleep less so you can do more. Get enough sleep.
OK, so now that we have that out of the way…
I am not going to tell you to wake up at four in the morning, unless you’re already waking up at four thirty. I’m advocating getting up half an hour to one hour earlier than you usually do. In that time, you can:
- Get a sense of your day. Use the time to take a look at your calendar and to-do list, check out what’s going on with your friends on Facebook and Twitter, check the weather report. See what lies ahead and plan for it instead of reacting to it.
- Read or watch the news. Find out what’s going on in the world, and take time to do more than just read the headlines about the parts you are interested in. This ties in really well with actually enjoying your morning coffee and not just chugging it down while running out the door.
- Read a book or magazine. Again, with the morning coffee. Enjoy the silence before the rest of the house wakes up.
- Eat breakfast. A real breakfast, that involves cooking. And a plate. And sitting down.
- Get outside. Remember when you got your place and imagined yourself sitting on the back deck, watching the sun come up (or set)? Now is the time to live out the dream.
- Get a workout in. It doesn’t have to be anything dramatic or high-impact if your body is not up to it yet. Take a walk, do some yoga, stretch, hit the treadmill.
- Pray. Meditate. Read a devotional. Whatever it takes for you to spiritually and mentally center yourself and prepare yourself for the day, do it.
- Spend time with your partner. If you can convince them to wake up early with you, you can use the time to catch up on each others’ lives. Especially if you have hectic schedules – kids, multiple jobs, etc., you can end up feeling like strangers passing in the night. Wake up a little earlier and tell each other about your days, discuss the latest Hollywood gossip, pore over the stats for your fantasy teams – whatever makes you happy. Reconnect.
This is great! I like how you suggest a lot of enjoyable activities worth waking up for AND good for you
Or pairing less fun activities with something you do enjoy (coffee!). Before the holidays upset my daily routine, I was on a good run of waking up early to clean the kitchen from the night before because I would also watch the previous night’s Daily Show as I worked. I find if I try to wake up early to do something that just feels like a chore, I’m just setting myself up for failure and frustration.
I clean the kitchen in the morning, too! I have enough to do at night. While the boys are eating breakfast, I unload and reload the dishwasher and wash the pots and pans. This way I am right there to talk to them and make sure they are actually eating, but I also get something done.
I get up about half an hour before everyone else most days. Sometimes Paul gets up with me. Even when he does, though, I can still usually squeeze in a workout or some internet time, or most often some solo cuddle time with the little guy. We like to watch Sesame Street and Arthur under a blanket on the couch