Why You Should Wake Up Early

One of the reasons I am egotistical enough to assume that I have anything of value to add to the internet is because I have done a so-so job at changing my bad habits. It's become an obsession to transform myself into the person I want to be. Although, I am a long way from being this person, (and I may never fully become this person) I have picked up a few tricks along the way. I want to try and convince you why you should wake up early. Like, earlier than you have to. Before you dismiss this entire post, let me make my case. I went through a pretty significant life style change. I lost 100 lbs., and the only way I was able to do that was by changing other habits in my life that lead me to eat my way to 300 pounds. I had to change more than just my eating habits. I had to change the way I approached everything. One of the things that helped the most was waking up early.

For starters, rushing in the morning sucks. I get it. Sleep is life. Getting in as much sleep as possible before you HAVE to get up is important. But why do you always feel like shit afterwards? You hit the snooze button 5 times, you question how much you really need that job, and when you realize that you do need it and you have to get up, you feel like you were hit by a truck. Oh, and now you only have 30 minutes to shower, brush your teeth, and get dressed before you have to rush out the door. But at least you got those extra 20 minutes of sleep. This cannot be the best way to do this. Even on a good morning, one in which you went to bed at a reasonable hour and got a good night's sleep, you're not waking up feeling great. Maybe you only hit snooze twice instead of five times, but you don't feel good. Just not as bad.

There are a few reasons why waking up sucks. Think about it, you're waking up solely to get ready for work. You are waking up to get ready to do something for someone else. Instead, set your alarm a few hours earlier, and do something YOU want to do. Meditate, exercise, read, play with your dog, make yourself a delicious breakfast, watch the news, it doesn't matter. Wake up for yourself. If you are waking up to do something that you want to do, it won't be such a drag to get up. And think about it; you're getting up to do things for other people, but what about yourself? Being awake a few hours before everyone else means no emails, no text messages, no one wanting to make small talk, no one distracting you, or asking something of you. It's your time. Take care of yourself first so you can then spend the rest of the day taking care of other people.

My second argument on why you should wake up early is that it puts you on the offensive. If you wake up with just enough time to get ready for work and leave with just enough time to get there when you are supposed to, your morning, and likely the rest of your day, will be spent reacting to events. If there is a car accident on your way to work that detours your route, you are screwed. If the traffic gods decide that every traffic light you go through will be red when you get there, you are screwed. If nothing else, there is always that one person on the road who has no urgency and drives as if they are lost and don't want to miss the street they have to turn in. This person who you are always stuck driving behind, and no matter how much you tail gate them, they do not drive any faster. You're constantly looking at your clock, and looking around for police officers so that no one catches you speeding. This is a terrible way to begin your morning and it usually spreads to the rest of your day. Instead, you leave for work early. You can actually enjoy the music you're listening to. You can sip your coffee, enjoy the ride and when that person who drives with the urgency of a person awaiting the death penalty eventually gets in your way, instead of saying terrible things about that person and wishing for things you're not proud of to happen to them, you can coast along behind them until they turn. You can actually enjoy your drive to work!

I'll finish this by saying that if you do decide to wake up early, make sure it's to do something for you. Make sure you are spending that time energizing yourself and doing something you want to do. Don't do work. Don't do a chore. Don't spend that time doing something for someone who is still asleep. This is time for you to charge up your batteries. And lastly, don't set multiple alarms. I know we do that because we want to make sure we wake up and if we sleep through the first alarm, you want to have back ups. The reason you sleep through your alarms is because you have back ups. Set one alarm. Trust me. It's all you need. If you only have one alarm set, you'll have to get up. Try this for a week. All of this. Try waking up early, doing something for yourself, and enjoying your drive to work. Try setting one alarm and getting up when you say you will. If you try it and still hate it, then you haven't lost anything. Or maybe you'll find a new morning routine that will affect the rest of your day.