Recently I have joined the 5 AM club. I don't make resolutions in the New Year, but I do sometimes take stock of the last year, reassess, recalibrate, reload and re-engage to steal a line or two from author Jocko Willink. Jocko is an ex Navy seal that has authored a few books now on leadership that are full of great information and ones I would highly recommend. I bring him up because he often posts on his instagram or twitter account a picture of his watch...at 0430 in the morning. As he indicates that is the time he gets up to "Get after it". I have followed his account now for a few years.
Lately, I re-read a book called the 5 AM club by Robin Sharma, who incidentally was raised not only in Canada from the age of 1, but just down the road from me in a place called Port Hawksbury, Nova Scotia! Robin's book is about getting up early and a number of habits that you can and should do in those early hours to ensure that your day is set. I have never been a morning person. I am indeed an I love my bed, please leave me alone, and is there coffee ready person. Lately, however, I took the plunge of self discipline and decided to try to get some productive hours in the early morning darkness. I would like to point a few things out to would be 5 AM members.
The first is, if you intend to try this...you will be in bed earlier in the evening. I used to be up to around midnight, now I start yawning at 8:30. Not a good scenario for a musician I know, but the adrenaline of a show would get me through that. It's easy to get really caught up in the tutelage of these lifestyles and books; however, they are not living your life. The picture gets painted that this may be difficult to get up, that you can do it, you can own it, and it will be awesome once done. I agree in principal; however....
Here are the things not mentioned in the book. Not everyone in your household would like to join you in your new morning life. That's a great thing, but also a double edged sword. That means that not everyone would like to join you in going to bed early. That means that law and order may be blaring from a TV in your bedroom at 1130 at night or your thirteen year old and his buddies may be up later than you are screaming at his virtual soldier who is trying to be the last person standing in Fort Night. Luckily for me, Kelly doesn't like Law and Order, but you get the gist. Next, old Robin fails to mention how one can get away with not waking up the spouse/partner that shares your bed when the alarm clock startles you out of unconciousness at 0500. I can tell you that part doesn't go well.
The first bit of advice that the early morning gurus have is to work out vigorously. Tony Robbins jumps on a trampoline for awhile, takes ice baths, journals, etc. Do you have a sound proof home? If not, said partner/spouse will not be happy to hear creaky springs of a mini trampoline bouncing your heavy carcass up and down at 5AM. Groaning through weights, push ups, etc...also not permitted. You need to find a way to work out vigorously and also have stoic ninja stealth at the same time. Difficult, but not impossible. Sneaking downstairs to do this without your Golden Retriever trying to join you is unfortunately impossible.
The best place of course to get this vigorous exercise in is to go outside. Did I mention that these authors now live in places like California? Outside at 5AM in a Canadian January isn't exactly super conducive to wind sprints. Again difficult, but not impossible. If you think your dog will allow you to leave the premises without him, and will just quietly watch you walk up the dark driveway for your jaunt around your slumbering neighbourhood...not going to happen. The dog now believes that your early morning ritual is for him. In fact, while you sweat to the oldies he will begin whining to go out as if he didn't always used to sleep in right beside you and you were in fact torturing him all of these years by letting him stay in a warm ball by your bed.
There is also the coffee. Best advice, prepare everything you think you might need the night before. I am a bit of a coffee snob these days and use a pour over type coffee. That means beans go into the grinder then into a filter and water is manually poured over the grinds. Grinders make a lot of noise at 5:30 AM. I know that to be true because I was given that information first hand. Grind your beans at night instead of trying to find a place to wrap the grinder into a hug underneath a hoodie crouched down behind a door hoping to keep it quiet.
If you don't have a baby waking you up all night, or a toddler going through bad dreams or sleep walking, or perhaps a university aged night owl who stumbles in the front door after a sampling Bud Lights 5 newest flavours...then you may get the sleep you require to make this early morning happen on the regular. That part isn't in any of the books.
The point I guess is not to take all of the things in the books as a literal recipe. Tailor make your routine to your lifestyle and make some sort of micro improvement is kind of what I have learned. All those small little changes will eventually add up to some big things. Getting 1% better each day would get you 365% better than you were in a year, unless you get hit with a leap year that's going to add a percentage point. Even if you get 1% better per week that is still 52% better over a year and surely we can all improve by 1% per week in some aspect of our lives? My last piece of advice if you begin to wake up early is to have a plan. I said that I re-read the 5 AM club because I had tried it in the past...without any real plan. Trust me, waking up to sit alone in a chair and wonder what you should do next is not going to work. If you do give it a whirl, good luck to you with it all. I think it could be a game changer for some. Time for me to go wake up the kids and let them know that it's 7:30 so the day is nearly half done. That part is fun.