How to Wake Up Early and Not Fail in the Attempt
Reflections of an Early Riser for Acquiring a New Habit.
A few years back, when I worked as a designer at a prominent furniture company, I became aware I had the desire to start a venture of my own.
I wanted to work for myself, stop following the whims of every incompetent manager I had, and blaze my own unique way.
I had to create the foundation for what was going to be my first enterprise.
No, this text is not about entrepreneurship.
It’s about how I realized I needed extra time in the day to prepare to be an entrepreneur and because of that need, I found one of my favorite habits of life, waking up early.
Today, I want to share with you a train of thought like the one I had when I started waking up early.
My goal for this text is for you to achieve it as well. To wake up early, start your day with purpose, and uphold that habit throughout your life.
If you read through the entire text, you’ll grasp the list I’ve made about how I became a productive early riser.
Early thoughts.
I must admit that I have nature on my side. I like mornings more than evenings, but it’s not just about that to make it a habit.
A routine needs passion. I dreamt of becoming a self-employed entrepreneur and envisioned working in a field that ignited my excitement.
My family comes from the countryside, so I have a connection to all things green and the quadrupeds of my land. Nature is a passion for me. It’s something into which I put my heart and all my creativity.
Thinking about my entrepreneurial proposal was my first incentive to wake up an hour before I had to leave for the office.
Researching, writing, and organizing my thoughts to give shape to that idea was my first Meraki.
This is a word that comes from Greek and expresses putting your soul and heart into what you love to do.
Finding a Meraki is finding a purpose in life.
It can be a hobby or a skill you want to regain. It is something that you’re so passionate about that the excitement of thinking about it lifts you out of bed.
The best way to find that motivation is to ask yourself, “If I had more free time, what would I spend it on?”
You can have several answers; only choose the one you like the most and get out of bed.
Now that you are awake.
Once I started waking up early, I realized I needed to make the most of that time before going to work. It was necessary for me to plan my mornings ahead of time.
It’s not only a matter of programming your alarm for 5 a.m. and observing what unfolds. You run this show. Start your morning off on the right foot by having a goal in mind.
How you may ask?
Establish a routine for when you wake up and when you go to bed to develop a habit, so you can help your brain do what you need to do when you get out of bed.
At night, I used to leave ready on my desk, books, notes, and URLs that I needed to review for my tasks. In the same way, someone who wants to wake up early to go to the gym can leave their clothes ready the night before.
A reminder to the brain of what to do right after one wakes up.
Making the small sacrifice of thinking about your next morning before going to bed will enhance your productivity as an early riser.
Get in the zone.
You are already up, with a purpose in your heart and your brain, telling you what you should do now that you’re out of bed.
What’s the next step?
Do what you love before the demands of daily life absorb your attention.
For me, and likely for many of us, the key is to steer clear of diversions to make the most of that morning’s time.
What did I do then, and what do I still do? I understood that most of the time, the things that distract us are things we need to do. The crux of the matter is that we should not concentrate on those things in the morning.
Yes, there will always be distractions. The key is to cultivate the ability to allot enough time and space for each undertaking.
Remembering to dedicate the first moments of your day to your Meraki and nothing else is crucial. You can do things like check your email, use social media, wash dishes, and think about money later in the day.
You did it once, do it again.
You have now achieved the milestone of waking up early for the first time. Surely getting up was difficult, and it’s not yet a habit. If you take waking up early seriously every day, then you have to do it consistently to make it part of your routine.
Life gets constructed action by action, day by day, and for that, you need to develop your self-discipline, which is the habit of consistency.
It’s finding the motivation to do something through persistent efforts until you do it without thinking and perceive results.
Final thoughts.
Last but not least, I want to share two concepts from Stoic philosophy that I learned after developing the habit of waking up early.
They have helped me to be more productive.
The first is to prepare for the day ahead with Premeditatio Malorum or negative visualization.
History tells us that Emperor Marcus Aurelius, in his mornings before starting his duties as a ruler, thought about the people he would deal with during the day.
He thought that some of them would be rude, hypocritical, and hostile to him so he mentally prepared himself and faced in advance the situations that all those people could bring him.
Likewise, I do it, and you can too.
This isn’t pessimism, instead is eternal optimism. It’s about giving your best, no matter the situation, and for that, you have to be prepared.
Practice being calm in the chaos.
The next concept I learned was Memento Mori.
We are all aware of it. Our mortality should determine how we act, think, and speak.
“When you wake up in the morning, think of the privilege of living: breathing, thinking, enjoying, loving.”
Marcus Aurelius.
When you wake up in the morning and realize that you’re still alive, meditate on your mortality. Accept death as inevitable. Reflect on this to create priority and meaning, to create urgency, and a real perspective on your daily actions.
Now that you’ve reached this point, I can list the pillars of my early rising habit:
- Find your Meraki
- Prepare your mornings
- Avoid distractions
- Premeditatio Malorum
- Memento mori
One last thought I want you to hold on to. Our brain prioritizes instant gratification, and values short-term rewards over long-term benefits. As a result, a considerable number of us are unsuccessful in adopting new habits.
We may give up on new habits because we assume the difficulty of the first few days will never end.
But it’s not true; once we overcome the first few days, everything changes.
A bad day doesn’t have to become a dreadful week; a terrible week doesn’t have to become a poor year. A new day comes like a new life, and it’s a new opportunity to be better.
Forgive yourself for waking up late today and start waking up early tomorrow.
Hi, I’m Nestor Laverde. Thanks for reading me.
If you’re interested in motivating yourself though rock, marketing, and space thrillers, you’ve come to the right place.
Follow me here https://medium.com/@nestorlaverdedigital and on Twitter https://twitter.com/nlaverdedigital if you are on LinkedIn …https://www.linkedin.com/in/nestorlaverde/
