Why I get up at 4am (and how you can too!)
Being a very early riser has been a game changer for so many parts of my life.
Today I want to share three reasons why I personally love to get up at 4am.
Perhaps they will inspire you to give it a try!
1: It has changed my life
OK this sounds a bit dramatic - but honestly it has.
I find this peaceful time before my family is up the most productive and clear time of my day. On four of the seven morning (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat) I go and exercise with my trainer, which is a great way to spend this period. But on the other three days (Tue, Thur, Sun) I try and get some really focused work done by doing a ‘working sprint’ session.
If I've spent an hour or two working hard on a project for my business before the rest of the world is even awake I feel so much more on top of my day. I know I have done a big chunk of difficult work and so if things go pear shaped with the kids or other distractions pop up during the day, then I know that things are still moving forward.
If you’re interested in what my full morning routine looks like at the moment you can read about it here.
2: It has increased my confidence
There is nothing like taking action and gaining momentum in what you are doing to really help build confidence in yourself.
The simple act of setting a goal for yourself (e.g. getting up at 4am in this case) and then consistently showing up and doing what you say you are going to do, will help you believe in yourself and show yourself that you are capable of difficult things. This will then have a natural flow on effect on other parts of your life as well - I know it has for me.
Become a person who does the things you say you are going to do - it will help get you in momentum and build a huge amount of confidence in what you’re capable of.
3: It’s my productive time while my family is asleep
I am a Mum of 3 boys and it can be so easy to get distracted in the day when my boys are awake.
So waking up at 4am allows me to carve out a quiet, distraction free period in my day that is dedicated to focusing on my work and getting something productive achieved.
I tend to use these early hours to work on difficult project work or to write content for my business. I make a cup of tea and sit down straight away to get started.
My projects are always set in advance during my Sunday planning sessions, so I always know exactly what I’m going to be working on. I also have set tasks that I do each day - as per my ‘ideal week calendar’, which as of writing this post looks like this:
If you struggle to find time to get things done that are important to you then consider getting up earlier to do these things.
4: Many extremely successful people wake up early
Benjamin Franklin famously said "Early to bed and early to rise makes man healthy, wealthy and wise".
There are so many successful early risers and many of them attribute part of their success to getting up early each day. Some examples of successful early risers are Oprah, Michelle and Barack Obama, Richard Branson, Beethoven, Gandhi, Thomas Edison, Mozart and Nelson Mandela - to name just a few.
I'm sure it is no coincidence that the success of my business has also skyrocketed alongside the period that I've been getting up so early. The simple habit of getting up at early is also just one of many small tweaks that I have subsequently made to lots of other habits around it.
How to start getting up early
If you are struggling to find time for yourself to do things you want with your life then I would highly encourage you to give getting up at early a try.
You don’t need to start by getting up at 4am. Simply start by setting your alarm 15 or 30 minutes earlier than you would normally get up. Then make sure you do something really productive with that extra time. It won't be easy at first, but your body will soon get used to it, trust me! I don't even use an alarm clock anymore - my body naturally wakes at 3.57am every single morning - weird, right??!!!
Try and think of it as a positive rather than something to dread. Get excited about the idea of some time for yourself.
And you also don't have to use this period for work. Take the time to do things for yourself - exercise, meditate, read a book, sign up for a course. Use the time to do something that motivates and inspires you and helps improve you as a person.
A great book to read or listen to on Audible is ‘The 5am Club’ by Robin Sharma. This book goes in depth in to the science of getting up early and has lots of practical ideas - all set within a fictional story setting, which makes it a really easy read.
A question I always get asked is what time I go to bed in order to wake up at 4am. I generally tuck my youngest son in around 8-8.30pm and go to sleep at the same time as him.
I also try and stick to the same schedule every single day - including weekends. This helps my body clock know when to go to sleep and when to wake up.
If you’re keen to get up earlier but you’re struggling then hopefully this post has given you some ideas!
Enjoy the rest of your day!
Clare x
Dr Clare Le Roy
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