No, You Don’t Need to Get Up at 4am to be Productive
We’ve all read the articles about how Barack Obama and Tim Cook and numerous other influential people get up at 4am (or some other ungodly hour).
And you know what?
Good for them.
But I’m not doing it.
Most days, I have to be dragged out of bed with a crane.
My body is so stiff my joints feel like they’re made of led and I’m so tired I crave caffeine from the minute I wake up until bedtime.
I don’t eat that frog, nor do I intend to.
If I did, I’d be finished by lunchtime, and you wouldn’t even be able to pick me up to move me out of the way — I’d be in too much pain.
That’s the joy of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.
If you’re unfamiliar with them, long story short, they both involve chronic pain and tiredness with no known cause. There are a gazillion other symptoms that come along with both of them, but that’s how they’re diagnosed. Oh, and there are no cures for either of them.
Now, where was I?
Oh yeah. Productivity.
Productivity is important to us all.
For me, as a writer, the more productive I am, the faster I can improve and the more people I can help with my words.
For you, it might be that the more productive you are, the closer you get to that pay rise or promotion.
Or it might be as ‘simple’ as achieving (almost) everything that needs to be done in a day. (You’ll never get all of it done. Sorry.)
All of these things are end goals.
You’ll never achieve any of them until you know what’s holding you back.
All the productivity how-tos in the world mean nothing until you know why you’re unproductive.
So what’s holding you back?
Is it your non-existent support network?
Is it physical or mental health problems?
Is it YOU?
Once you know what’s holding you back, you can fix it.
Then, and only then, can you become your most productive.
Getting up early is only one way to do it.
But you need to find a routine that works best for you.
And if that’s staying up until 4am rather than getting up at 4am, so what?
You do what works for you, not Barack Obama.
Don't compare yourself to anyone else.
And goes for their achivements and their productivity routines.
Discover what’s holding you back
Check out my book, Productivity for Writers. It will help you find out what’s really stopping you from reaching your potential and what to do about it.

This story is published in The Startup, Medium’s largest entrepreneurship publication followed by +364,117 people.
Subscribe to receive our top stories here.


