How to wake up early
Step 1: Define your purpose. Step 2: Define your “early.” Step 3: There is none. That’s it.
I wake up at 6:30am everyday.
While this doesn’t seem terribly early (especially if contrast against the countless lifestyle YouTube videos and podcasts that advocate waking up at 5am or earlier), it is definitely early for me.
Especially when it’s dark, cold, and my bed seems to be the only place where I can be comfortable and content, all at once.
But lately I realized I liked hot breakfast just a little bit more than a warm bed.
So I toss my sheets to the side, slip into sweatpants and a cardigan (because it’s still not that cold yet and I’d really like to conserve money and energy for a little while longer), and make my way into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
At around 6:40am, I’m sitting down in my kitchen, enjoying my oatmeal with fruits or maybe adding extra cheese to my mushroom and spinach omelette.
By 7:00am, I’m rolling out my yoga mat and putting on my sports bra to get warmed up for my exercise regimen. (I alternate strength and cardio/endurance training, Monday to Friday.)
Sometime between 7:45 and 8am, I’ll choose my outfit for work, wash up, change, and walk out of my apartment by 8:35am.
This post may seem more like a personal morning routine than an advise for waking up early, but I argue that they’re the same.
Like I said earlier, all you need to wake up early is your purpose and your “early” — your defined time to get up for the day so you can have time to accomplish what you want.
For me, the purpose is two-parts: (1) never skip breakfast and (2) exercise.
To define my “early,” I thought about my schedule.
Since I work in tech, there isn’t a designated time for me to clock in and out, so I had a chance to choose a 9-to-5 work day. (I can be more disciplined if it’s habit or done with consistency.)
My commute to work takes about 30 minutes, so I know I need to be out of my apartment around 8:30am.
It takes me roughly 20 minutes to get ready, so I know I need to be done with makeup and outfit changes around 8am. (I mean, it’s not just me that keeps changing my mind about what they’re wearing for the day, right?)
That means I have to finish my workout by 7:50am for a proper cool down (aka, I don’t profusely sweat as I hurry and do my eyebrows), so I need to have started my workout around 7:15 at the latest.
Since I like to have time to digest my food before any physical activity, I know I should be done with breakfast by 7am, which means I should be eating by 6:40am.
Hence, the magical time of 6:30am.
I know, I know — you’re probably tired of hearing this same advise about waking up early and changing your life, but I think the simple exercise of listing out your purpose and figuring out your time is greatly lacking from all of that material.
So, I guess what I’m trying to say here is, if you want to wake up early and change your life, do it yourself.
