“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”

- Ben Franklin

This quote reminds me most of my grandfather. When I would stay at my grandparents on the weekends, he would say it early in the morning during breakfast. Although I have been passed horrible genes for steady sleep, this quote contains valuable information with huge rewards for me…

Now, let me first say that if you are a night owl, and that works for you, I think that’s great. There’s no reason to change, especially if you’re happy with it. But for me, as hard as it was,  switching from being a night owl to an early riser (and yes, it is possible) has been a godsend. It has helped me in so many ways that I’d never go back. Here are just a few:

1. Greet the day. I love being able to get up, and greet a wonderful new day. I suggest creating a morning ritual that includes saying thanks for your blessings. I’m inspired by the Dalai Lama, who said, “Everyday, think as you wake up, ‘today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”
2. Amazing start. I used to start my day by jumping out of bed, late as usual, groggy, and rushing to whatever it is I had that day. I would walk into work or class, looking rumpled and barely awake, and in a constant rush.  This is not a great start to your day. Now, I have a renewing morning ritual, Lately, I’ve gotten so much done before 8 a.m., I feel like I’m already ahead of my game plan, life is less stressful, and by the time everyone else is starting their day,  I’ve already gotten a head start. There is no better way to start off your day than to wake early, in my experience.
3. Quietude. No kids yelling, no babies crying, no dogs barking, no cars, no television noise, no wife nagging (just kidding Danielle), and no loud stereos blaring by the neighbors. The early morning hours are so peaceful, so quiet. It’s my favorite time of day. I truly enjoy that time of peace, that time to myself, when I can think, when I can read, when I can breathe.
4. Sunrise. People who wake late miss one of the greatest feats of nature, repeated in full stereovision each and every day — the rise of the sun. I love how the day slowly gets brighter, when the midnight blue turns to lighter blue, when the brilliant colors start to seep into the sky, when nature is painted in incredible colors. Lately I have been doing more web development, but I need to start doing my early morning run/walk with my dog Bo. During this time, I look up at the sky, count my blessings, and say to the world, “I’m so glad to be here alive and healthy” Really. I really do that. Corny, I know.
5. Breakfast. Rise early and you actually have time for breakfast. It’s definitely the most important meal of the day. Without breakfast, your body is running on fumes until you are so hungry at lunchtime that you eat whatever unhealthy thing you can find or your stomach gradually eats itself. The fattier and sugarier, the better. But eat breakfast, and you are sated until later. Plus, eating breakfast while reading a book and drinking my XS Energy Drink in the quiet of the morning is eminently more enjoyable than scarfing something like a bacon egg and cheese bagel from McDonalds and regretting it later.
6. Exercise. There are other times to exercise besides the early morning, of course, but I’ve found that while exercising right after work is also very enjoyable, it’s also liable to be canceled because of other things that come up or being too tired from a rough day. Morning exercise is virtually never canceled. Also, working out early in the morning allows you to burn more calories throughout the day.
7. Productivity. Mornings, for me at least, are the most productive time of day. I like to do some work or writing in the morning, when there are no distractions, before I check my email or website stats. I get so much more done by starting on my work in the morning. Then, when evening rolls around, I have no work that I need to do, and I can spend it with wife, friends, or playing softball.
8. Goal time. Got goals? Well, you should. And there’s no better time to review them and plan for them and do your goal tasks than first thing. You should have one goal that you want to accomplish this week. And every morning, you should decide what one thing you can do today to move yourself further towards that goal. And then, if possible, do that first thing in the morning.
9. Commute. No one likes rush-hour traffic, except for Big Oil. Commute early, and the traffic is much lighter, and you get to work faster, and thus save yourself more time. Or better yet, road rage!
10. Appointments. It’s much easier to make those early appointments on time if you get up early. Showing up late for those appointments is a bad signal to the person you’re meeting. Showing up early will impress them. Plus, you get time to prepare.

How to Become an Early Riser

• Don’t make drastic changes. Start slowly, by waking just 15-30 minutes earlier than usual. Get used to this for a few days. Then cut back another 15 minutes. Do this gradually until you get to your goal time.
• Allow yourself to sleep earlier. You might be used to staying up late, perhaps watching TV or surfing the Internet. But if you continue this habit, while trying to get up earlier, sooner or later one is going to give. And if it is the early rising that gives, then you will crash and sleep late and have to start over. I suggest going to bed earlier, even if you don’t think you’ll sleep, and read while in bed. If you’re really tired, you just might fall asleep much sooner than you think.
• Put your alarm clock far from you bed. If it’s right next to your bed, you’ll shut it off or hit snooze. Never hit snooze. If it’s far from your bed, you have to get up out of bed to shut it off. By then, you’re up. Now you just have to stay up. My wife and I have had a few not so great experiences with alarms. She started law school about a year ago and our schedules were conflicting. I was working the late shift at a computer lab on campus. One of us (usually me, but don’t tell her) would hit the snooze button causing her to be running late getting ready in the morning and stressing her out throughout the day. It wasn’t just for her classes, but for work in the morning. There were actually a couple occasions where she missed one or the other because of this madness. That is when I came up with this solution. AND IT WORKS!
• Go out of the bedroom as soon as you shut off the alarm. Don’t allow yourself to rationalize going back to bed. Just force yourself to go out of the room. My habit is to stumble into the bathroom and go pee. By the time I’ve done that, and flushed the toilet and washed my hands and looked at my ugly poorly shaved face in the mirror (I always miss a spot), I’m awake enough to face the day.
• Do not rationalize. If you allow your brain to talk you out of getting up early, you’ll never do it. Don’t make getting back in bed an option.
• Have a good reason. Set something to do early in the morning that’s important. This reason will motivate you to get up. I like to read the news online articles, and write in the morning, so that’s my reason. Also, when I’m done with that, I like to create my strategy for a successful day.
• Make waking up early a reward. Yes, it might seem at first that you’re forcing yourself to do something hard, but if you make it pleasurable, soon you will look forward to waking up early. A good reward is to make a hot cup of coffee or tea and read a book. Other rewards might be a tasty treat for breakfast (smoothies! yum!) or watching the sunrise, or meditating. Find something that’s pleasurable for you, and allow yourself to do it as part of your morning routine. I enjoy watching funny YouTube videos while having one of my XS Energy drinks sometimes for my reward.
• Take advantage of all that extra time. Don’t wake up an hour or two early just to do meaningless tasks, unless that’s your goal for the day. Don’t wake up early and waste that extra time. Get a jump start on your day! I like to use that time to get a head start on checking my websites, planning for the rest of the day, on exercising or meditating, reading and research, and checking my e-mails. By the time 6:30 rolls around, I’ve done more than many people do the entire day.