Another failed morning.
Kids screaming. Plans destroyed.
Dashing to work late, exhausted –
and MAD at yourself and your life.
WHEN will you ever have any TIME?
Ever felt like this?
You're not alone.
And there IS a solution.
An oasis of clear peaceful time just waiting for you to find it.
Today I'm going to teach you how to wake up at 5:00 a.m. – even if you're not a morning person.
This article is brought to you by Audible. I've been a paid Audible user for over a decade. I've listened to over 500 of their audio books. They've really helped me up my game.
A couple of my favorite listens are Deep Work by Cal Newport – amazing if you're looking to make an impact on the world – and Essentialism by Greg McGowan, which I listen to every month to help me stay focused on what's important. Click here to get a free audiobook with a 30-day trial membership at Audible or text RMRS to 500-500.
So let's start this off by addressing the elephant in the room – why in the world would anyone want to wake up at 5:00 a.m.? I mean, NOBODY is up that early.
Well – that's exactly the point. When you wake up this early, you have time to yourself without being selfish. You can focus on your own self-improvement. Take care of your body. Exercise. Feel no remorse that you're spending an hour on the most important asset you were born with.
By waking up at 5 a.m. you're expanding your quality time. The amount of time you have to focus in on what's important to YOU has shot up.
And the second huge benefit: you are going to be happier. You're going to feel more satisfied – because at 8 a.m. when everyone else is just heading off to work, you've already been up for three hours. You've already been to the gym. You cooked a great breakfast. Relatively speaking – you already feel accomplished. It's a great way to start your day.
Now let's get into the details of waking up early – how to consistently wake up at 5:00 a.m.
It starts the night before.
#1. Have A Bedtime Routine
This sounds simple – but it's incredibly powerful. In my house, we put the electronics to bed every night at 7:00PM. My kids know it's time to put them in the charging station in the kitchen. We do this because you don't want to be looking at screens two hours before going to sleep.
But most importantly – we've got a routine. At 8:00 p.m. it's bath time. Kids are brushing their teeth, adults are brushing their teeth, everyone's getting ready for bed. And at 9 p.m. everyone is in their bed.
Now does that always happen? No – not all the time. But we at least strive for it. We have a system and we stick to it.
All right – so I know what some of you guys are thinking. ‘Antonio, I don't have time for a bedtime routine. I'm a busy guy!' Well, let me tell you – my bedtime routine is actually one of the most enjoyable parts of my day, because from 7 to 8 o'clock at night – yes, I'm cleaning the kitchen, cleaning the living room, helping out around the house, but I'm listening to my audiobooks and I absolutely love it. Right now I'm listening to Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed. It's a business book but it's got great stories.
#2. Limit Your Caffeine Intake
This seems obvious – but I see so many people in the afternoons and evenings drinking coffee. Even if it's decaf, it's still got caffeine.
My solution? I NEVER drink coffee past noon – because I know that if I'm going to go to sleep at 9:00 I need those eight to nine hours to get that caffeine out of my body.
#3. No Alcohol 5 Hours Before Sleeping
Now this next tip is going to be tough – but don't drink alcohol at least five hours before going to sleep.
It may seem that you can fall asleep easier – but when you've got alcohol in your system, you're not going to sleep as well. You're not going to get nearly as much deep sleep as you need.
#4. Set Up Your Bedroom For Better Sleep
Set up your bedroom so that you can actually get sleep. Do you have a television in your bedroom? Get rid of it. Don't keep your phone or any other electronics in the bedroom. Don't use your phone as an alarm – have a proper alarm clock.
You'll also want to invest in a good mattress and sheets that you're comfortable in. If you are uncomfortable, you're tossing and turning all night and you're not getting a good night's sleep.
Do you ever go to a hotel, get into bed and think, ‘Wow – this feels great'? Why don't you spend money on a great mattress and great sheets – so every night you can want to get into your bed?
Finally – get the temperature right. This depends on the individual, but I find a lower temperature helps me sleep – and for some reason I really like to have my feet hanging outside the covers. I find cooler feet enable me to sleep better. But there are studies that show that warmer feet will help some people fall asleep faster. It really depends on the person.
#5. Be Excited To Wake Up In The Morning
This one is super ninja, although not many people talk about it. Do you remember as a kid when you were excited about your day – maybe looking forward to a trip or a holiday – you'd just fly out of bed at 4 a.m? Would you believe me if I told you you could recapture that excitement?
What I do is journal and write out just a couple of great things I want to accomplish and I think about that before going to sleep. Thinking about these things, getting excited about the promise of the next day – maybe having an affirmation you say to yourself at night and in the morning – can really help you feel how lucky you are.
You are so fortunate to have this day. Remind yourself of that. If you can do that, you're going to be flying out of bed every morning.
#6. Smart Alarms
There are a lot of smart alarm options out there. There are sunrise alarms – when you wake up they bring light into the room. Or you may find simply starting to use a regular alarm clock makes a big difference if you don't already use one.
But there's one feature on alarm clocks that is NOT smart. Don't get one with a snooze button – because when you hit that snooze button you're starting the day off with procrastination. Don't do that. It'll have a negative impact on your productivity for the rest of the day. Snooze alarms shouldn't even exist in my opinion.
Don't use your phone in your room as the alarm. You can have it as an alarm in another room – but having it next to where you're sleeping is a bad idea.
#7. Glass Of Water Next To Bed
At 5:00 a.m. when you wake up – grab that glass of water, slam it, you feel great. And even if you were to fall back asleep – within 10 minutes you'll be awake again and running to the bathroom.
#8. Have Somebody To Hold You Accountable
This is really powerful and very useful if you're not consistently waking up early. Most of us have a job where we've got to show up at a set time or we'll be fired. That is a form of accountability.
So why not apply that kind of accountability to your own personal development? Have someone meet you at the gym at 6:00 a.m. If you find somebody to hold you accountable – that is much more powerful than any app out there.
#9. Get Moving First Thing
My next step for consistently waking up early is to move first thing in the morning. You want to exercise. Go to the gym, hit the pool, go for a run. You want to get the blood flowing.
I've met a lot of successful people. Most of them exercise. And of those who do exercise – most do it in the morning.
Why? Again – they can have time for themselves, they don't miss it. They crave it in the morning. And when you exercise first thing in the morning you have accomplished one of the most important things you can do for your body.
#10. Reward Yourself
You're going to love this step – reward yourself. Give yourself a treat. Pat yourself on the back. Give yourself something nice in the morning when you wake up early.
For me it's having a nice coffee with my wife. We whip up the cream, we use a little bit of coconut sugar – it's delicious. When you've got something like that you look forward to in the morning you're going to wake up early.
Remember – progress, not perfection. The first week you try this you might get three out of the seven days. That's a start. Maybe you take a step back some weeks. That's okay. The point is you are consistently taking steps in the right direction.
If the tips in this video weren't enough – if you want more detailed information on how to consistently wake up early and have a great start to your day – go read The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. You can get it as a free audiobook on Audible.
All you have to do to get it for free is start up a 30-day trial membership. Click here to get your free book from Audible or text RMRS to 500-500.
Click Here To Watch The Video – How To Wake Up At 5 A.M.
