Every morning, I wake up at 5 am and start my day. Do you want to know the single most important thing you can do with an “extra” hour in your day? Learn. Grow. Improve.
“What’s the best book for personal growth?” is the one question I get asked most. The answer is learning a new skill or working on a project that excites you, which are things you can do in the early hours of the day.
We all need to take the time to learn something new, exercise, eat right, and take care of ourselves. I can’t think of a more effective time for that than the early morning.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel like learning a new language at 9 PM. Or writing a book after a long day at work. That’s the reason I started my early morning routine that goes like this:
- Wake up at 5 AM.
- Start my day by exercising.
- Take a cold shower.
- Do my task. This task could be related to my business, that day’s article, a book, or course I’m going through.
I’ve also been reading for 30-60 minutes every single day since 2015. If you’re trying to make a positive change, good habits are the solution. And if you want to improve your knowledge, one of the best things you can do is read more often. A study by the University of Sussex found that reading for just 6 minutes can reduce stress levels by up to 68%.
Learning is like lifting weights. If you do 100 squats a day, you’ll get better and better at doing squats. If you read every day, you get better and better at reading (duh). And since reading is the best way to learn new things, that means you get better at learning. Plus, you’ll be more knowledgeable and your vocabulary will improve.
What can you do early in the morning?
There are so many things you can do if you wake up at 5 in the morning. Because the time is yours. It’s the only time of the day that you’re in control of. The rest of the day, you need to go to your job, pick up the kids, etc.
This is the time to focus on your needs. Look, you don’t become more selfish by waking up early and focusing on yourself in the morning. You become a better person, and therefore, you become a gift to others.
This doesn’t mean that I wake up early to work more. I just spend my time on things I enjoy. And over time, I’ve made a lot of progress with my goals. But you can use your time in any way you want.
- Read for an hour.
- Examine your finances.
- Go for a long walk.
- Journal about your life.
- Work on a new project/hobby.
- Meditate.
- Exercise. The possibilities are endless.
A few mindful moments can provide clarity for the day ahead.
Write down your top priorities
You have about an hour and a half to do something meaningful. Now you need to decide what that something is. My number one productivity tip is to spend the first 90 minutes of your work day on your #1 priority.
But that’s not a rule. It’s a tip. You can do whatever you want. Exercise, read, write, work on a project. It’s all good. Just make sure it brings you closer to your goals. Because that’s the whole point of waking up early.
Before you go to bed, take a minute to think about what you want to do the next morning. Put a pen and notebook next to your bed in case you wake up with a good idea. That way, when you wake up, you don’t have to think about what to do.
You just start.
And finally, write down your top 3-5 priorities for the day. That way you’re always reminded of what you need to do. Trust me, this is very useful. And when you’re done with your 5 AM stuff, you can switch to autopilot. You already did the most important thing of the day.
Journaling while the day is new fosters clarity and intention.
“I can’t wake up at 5.”
Yes, you can. And let’s be honest. We all know we can. We just don’t want to. We all want to sleep in. I’m no different. But I just prefer the benefits of waking up early.
According to a study published in the journal Nature Communications, exercising in the morning leads to more weight loss compared to exercising later in the day. Studies have also shown that you’re less likely to work out after a day at the office. If you don’t exercise, you miss out on a lot of productivity and peace of mind. So, I’d rather wake up earlier, exercise, and have more energy.
So here’s how you make it happen:
- Start gradually. You don’t go from waking up at 9 AM to 5 AM overnight. Try 8 AM. Then 7 AM. See how your day feels and keep on adjusting.
- Make sure you’re in bed by 9:30 PM if you want to wake up at 5 AM. That’s right, you need around 7.5 hours of sleep. (Yes, I know there are people who need only 6 hours of sleep. But that’s uncommon. Most of us aren’t like Elon Musk and need more than 6 hours of sleep.)
- Prepare the night before. Set everything out and think about what you’re going to do in the morning. That way you don’t have any excuses in the morning.
- Get an accountability partner. This really helps. My brother wakes up at 5 AM. So we often text each other in the morning. And it also helps to have someone by your side who’s trying to make the same change.
But if you still don’t want to wake up early, that’s fine too. You will have to find another time to do your personal growth stuff.
How to balance personal growth and responsibilities?
After I started my early morning routine, my life changed. I made more time for myself. I focused on my goals. And I made real progress. But let’s not kid ourselves. It’s not always easy. And it’s really hard not to go overboard with self-improvement.
Author and researcher Tom Corley found that millionaires spend an average of 30-70 minutes a day exercising. He says:
“Seventy-six percent of the wealthy do aerobics. Fifty-five percent lift weights. Sixty percent do calisthenics. Their commitment to staying fit is an important part of their daily lives.”
Corley’s statistics are interesting, but it doesn’t mean you should spend 70 minutes a day on fitness if you want to become a millionaire. In his book, Change Your Habits, Change Your Life, Corley provides more tips for how you can stay fit and healthy without spending all day at the gym.
Also, if you have a family, you can’t spend half of your day on your goals. It’s important that your partner is on the same page. And, if your kids are a bit older, get them involved.
It’s also important to know what you need to do to improve your life. But also, what you need to do to maintain it. For example, making more money is something you can do. But keeping more of what you make is a different story.
The bottom line is: If you focus on personal growth for the sake of growth, it will hurt you. But if you think of it as a way to become a better person who’s of service to others, you’ll be fine.
“What if I get up at 5 AM and I’m too tired to work out?”
Simple: Turn around and sleep. You’re not a robot. There are no rules. If you don’t feel like working out, don’t work out. Also, it helps to have a good night of sleep.
And what if you’re tired in the afternoon? Take a nap!
This whole idea of forcing ourselves to do something is nonsense. Neither our bodies nor our minds were made for that.
But if you decide to wake up at 5 AM, use your time wisely. Don’t waste your time and energy on things that don’t serve you. Spend your time on things that do. And remember, it’s all about making progress.
