As you can see from the time stamp on this post, it’s way too early. My alarm went off at an astounding 5:00am (yawn.)
Normally I am a night person. If I didn’t have a job I would probably stay up until 2:00 or 3:00am every night and sleep in until noon. However, I’ve discovered that that schedule doesn’t really work in the ‘real world.’ So here’s the plan…
I intend to learn how to become an early riser.
I guess this is a little off topic from my usual financial articles, but I think it’s important nonetheless. Financial freedom goes hand-in-hand with personal discipline. So here’s my theory, if I can become an early riser I will be more productive, if I’m more productive I will stay caught up with everything that I have to get done, if I’m caught up with everything that I have to get done then I’m less stressed, if I’m less stressed then I will be less inclined to make those ‘feel good’ shopping trips, the ‘I’m to tired to cook’ food runs, and my most used excuse ‘I worked all day and the last thing I want to do is update my finances.’
Still with me? Good! Steve Pavlina wrote an article on how to become an early riser that inspired me to take the challenge.
My story is similar to his. I don’t know how many times I’ve set my alarm clock for 5am and not actually gotten up at 5am. When I went to bed I had every intention of getting up, but it never happened. Apparently something changed between 10pm and 5am that I didn’t have any input on. I just figured I wasn’t born with the “early riser gene.”
I would wake up at 5, hit the snooze button and wait. I would lie there and tell myself that it was too cold to leave my warm bed, or that whatever I had planned for that morning wasn’t very important, etc.
That cycle has gone on for years and I am tired of it. I am going to become an early riser.
After reading Steve’s article I gained some great insight:
I am committing to becoming and early riser. For the next 30 days, today until January 4th, I will get up at 5:00 am.
I’ll keep you updated as I try this 30 day challenge.
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Awesome, I too have read Steve Pavlina’s article and have been inspired to become an early riser. I have to admit I have started drinking some coffee on those really tough morning but it has increased my productivity dramatically. Good luck and I hope you stick with it.
A big tip for me is not sleeping in on the weekend which I have done all my life but in doing the 30 day challenge have been able to keep the momentum in waking up early.
I set out to do this also, and I laster about 5 days in my own 30-day trial of it.
I never got the momentum to do it properly. I would try it again, but I have a graveyard shift job now.
haha.
I’m going to do it again, once I switch jobs, or get rid of my job, whichever comes first.
Bill