My very own 4:30 a.m. Challenge !

I have today completed my 21 early days challenge. Needless to say I feel accomplished and feel that this is one of my many challenges that I took on with absolutely every intention to carry it on to the end successfully and this time, I did just that.

Like many of us, I love the idea of taking on new good habits and challenges, and like many of us I often lose the enthusiasm on the way to the goal, often very close to it. This challenge however, had my full commitment and the reason for it are the benefits it had to offer me in return.

So, why did I do it and what did it do for me?

1) I wanted to do what my mentors have been doing for life

In the last few years I have develop a great passion for reading incessantly. I read with an obsession and love absorbing all that the books, articles, videos around me have to offer. I think I am kind of making up for all the lost learning years at school. Reading about High Achievers, Entrepreneurs, Rule benders and breakers I couldn’t miss assimilating the fact that almost all of them are early risers and they all passionately talk about being most productive in the quite holy hours of early morning.

Margaret thatcher woke up at 5 a.m. all her life!

Tim Cook , Robert Iger , Indra Nooyi, Robin Sharma, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi — all started early around 4–4:30 a.m. All of these people are the best of the best in their game. Getting up early as their consistent trait, has to be a contributor in their making- I had to give it a go.

2) I just needed a Push. I read this Blog shared on Facebook by Medium. I knew the benefits of the early mornings but all I needed was a push and push is what I received reading this.

Waking up early has now allowed me to read more on various topics and thus imbibe more learning’s in my life.

3) I wanted to Exercise. I complained a lot about not finding the time to exercise. Sometimes blaming it is all too hard to do along with running a business and managing an under 2 year old. Finding more time in waking hours was a struggle, so I decided to make more time by waking up early.

Now I can say that the things that get done right in the morning are the things that get done. I swallow my frogs in the morning and exercise is definitely was one of my frogs. By waking up at 4:30 a.m. I did find the time and I did do it — every single one of the 21 days.

4) I missed spending time with my family. I am the most productive in the morning and hardly do anything after noon.

Waking up at 4:30 Am allows me to finish work at 3:30 p.m. I am extremely productive in the morning and finish more than I previously ever did in my regular 8:30–5:30 pm day.

I love it and my Family loves it. My son now comes back home to a freshly cooked dinner, served right on time for his early dinner. We even get back home in time to watch Peppa Pig!

5) I wanted more time for myself.

I wanted to feel more energetic and as ironic as it sounds, I actually did feel like on top of the world on the early days. Weekends are very important for me, it is the days when I organise my life for the madness of weekdays and catch up on much precious time with my family. On weekends, when I woke up at 6:30 — 7:00 am , I felt that I missed the opportunity to go for a run or felt a lot less motivated to do things that I wanted to do with and for my family and myself.

Since waking up early I am also able to dedicate my morning hours to reading, writing and listening to books. Something,I hadn't done since the birth of my son. I feel alive and raring to go again!

6) I wanted to challenge myself.

Growing up I struggled with waking up in time to get ready for school. I know all kids like a sleep in, but mine as I understand was definitely an intense one. I have memories of my Father’s morning struggles with me embedded well in my mind. He often left me sleeping alone in the house, thinking I’d learn from missing my day at school. I on the other hand, obviously, did not learn any lessons. I loved being alone at home, for I hated school ! Having the house to myself meant it was time to do stuff that I wasn’t allowed to. Bring on Mum’s makeup …

While I wanted to make more time in my day, exercise and live more, I also wanted to break the mental image I had of myself that had stuck with me for the longest time. James Allen wrote in 1902 an essay titled “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he” where he says that a man (or a woman) is what they really think who they are. I had to set the record straight in my mind before I could claim my early mornings.

I have been an early riser for a long time but taking it to the next level by waking up at 4:30 a.m. needed self-discipline and rituals which made this transition easy and something I’d look forward to . I absolutely love to share here, my top tips on waking up early:

1) Putting the alarm clock away — I put mine in my home office. This makes me get up and walk all the way up to my work desk. Half the battle won I’d say. Once I am out of the bed, I am out of the bed.

2) Preparing the night before —

I lay out my running gear the night before. Having my running gear laid out meant I just had to slip into it and out the door I am. This one, is definitely easier than it sounds.

I clean and fill the kettle the night before. I have my first glass of warm water ( my health ritual) in the morning and it is easier when all you have to do is press a button and pour to drink.

I had my to-do list notepad ready on my desk. It is the first thing I see on my desk next to the alarm clock and my first 10 minutes in the morning I spend drafting and reviewing my days plan.

The $2 To-Do list from cheap and chips has been incredibly helpful.

3) Reading, Writing and Listening — I spend my morning first hour preparing for the day and preparing for life in general. Since the birth of my son and my business I have been struggling to find the time to read. Waking up early gave me a few extra hours in the morning to find time for just that. I take the time to write my plan, things I am thankful for, things I dream about and topics I am passionate about. I read on my favourite topics and people. I also recently discovered Audible.com and realised that listening to books is such an incredible way of going through my favourite authors while running or driving. I now keep my IPhone loaded with my favourite books.

4) Sharing it and talking about it — I love my Facebook News Feed. It keeps me update with the lives of my very scattered global family. It also feeds me my daily dose of news and inspiration. So while one morning as I went through my news feed, I read about the 21 Early Days Challenge . Someone out there was challenging themselves to do the crazy hour. Like my usual enthusiastic self, I decided to declare my very own challenge on Facebook! Yes, I did. To my surprise a few others decided to give it a go with me. Facebook can be an invaluable tool.

If you customise your newsfeed to feed you what you want, it without fail will oblige. Sharing my 20 Days with my colleagues and friends on Facebook has kept the pressure ON for me and helped me to keep in line with my target.

5) Sleeping early — This one is a cause and effect. When I wake up early I am definitely ready to hit the bed by 10:30 pm. The good thing is now I don’t spend time “trying to sleep” anymore.It takes me no more than 10 minutes to fall in a deep sleep and on most mornings as an effect, I wake up before the alarm.

Waking up at the crazy hour is now a routine . Would I wake up at 4:30am every day of my life? Yes, I’d like to make this a habit for life and consistently wake up between 4:30 — 5:00 am. Would absolutely love to boast to be a part of Robin Sharma 5 a.m. club and be as supercharged to live life to its full capacity, as I have been for the last several weeks.