The Early Bird Catches the Worm
The book What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, cites a poll of 20 executives in which 90% said they wake up before 6 a.m. on weekdays. PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, for example, wakes at 4 a.m. and is in the office no later than 7 a.m. Meanwhile, Disney CEO Bob Iger gets up at 4:30 to read, and Square CEO Jack Dorsey is up at 5:30 to jog.
They’re probably on to something…
Why wake up early?
- Get “extra” hours
- Time for peace and quiet before the craziness of the day sets in
- Time for a workout
- Read the news
- Time to eat breakfast
- Time to plan your day one step ahead
How can you do it?
- Remember: You snooze, you lose.
You set up an alarm for a reason. Don’t just snooze and go back to sleep. Make it a rule and stick to it. (Trick: put your alarm away from your bedside so that you have to physically get up to turn it off.)
- Baby steps.
If you normally wake up at 8am, try setting your alarm at 7:40am the next day. After that try 7:20am – repeat this process until you reach your goal.
- Be excited about tomorrow’s morning before you sleep.
There will always be something going on, or something to do the next day. Plan it before you go to bed, so that once you are awake, you will feel enthusiastic about it in the morning.
- Get to sleep early.
You won’t be able to wake up if you sleep late. Try to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep.
- Build the habit slowly.
Don’t rush through the whole process. Instead, gradually keep it up. You will find yourself getting up early without hating it, and finishing tasks for the day earlier.
