Now that I have implemented the habit of waking up at 5 am, I find myself with lots of time available. This is usually a good thing, but time per se is not a big deal if you don’t know what to do with it.
Up until today I would just used to wake up and work on what needed to be done, and if there were nothing to do I would just invent something. This is not necessarily bad, but I always had the feeling that I was missing the big picture, that’s why I’ve decided to start a morning routine. This is what I will do starting from tomorrow:
- 5 am: wake up.
- 5.15 am – 6.15 am: writing.
- 6.15 am – 7:30 am: work on personal projects.
- 7.30 am: meditation and then breakfast.
I know from experience that one hour per day might not be enough for writing, but it’s a start, and I can always continue during the day. But the big deal for me is being forced to work 1+ hour per day on personal projects. This way not making progress will be almost inevitable, and I’m looking forward to the results of this experiment.
I don’t think that it’s essential to have a morning routine, as you could probably do just fine with one in the afternoon or evening. I also know that I wont be able to do this every single day, but my goal is to do it for at least 5 days per week. As usual, I commit myself for a full 30 days before deciding if it’s worth or not.
I’m 25 days into my own 30-day “6 Habits” experiment and thus far squeezing in a workout has been a pretty good morning routine. No one seems to schedule meetings with me at 5-6am. =)
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Hey Steven, that’s a big benefit of waking up early. Fewer distractions and more time to do things that matters.
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this looks like a great idea. i’m sorely tempted to give this a try myself!
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Hey James, I think there’s nothing wrong in giving it a try. After all it’s only for 30 days and then you can decide if continuing or not.
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Following this experiment for you has got me itching to try it. 5am. Yikes. Early morning work outs and coffee will be required to kick start this, I think! The most productive time in my life was what I had to open a coffee shop at 4am five days a week. It’s a wonder how amazing you feel when you’re finished with work and the rest of the world is just getting caffeinated!
I’m curious how this morning routine will work for you. I’m terrible at routines. As soon as I establish them I want to break them. So, I’m looking forward to your upcoming posts!
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Hey Andi, I’ll make another post with the results of this experiment. Also, I don’t drink coffe :D
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Last whole week i was able to get up at 7 am and finish most important thing in next 2-3 hours. I don’t get up early on weekends. I hope i deserve this liberty. But i missed it today. Mondays are never motivating.
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Hey Donnie, that’s fine. Waking up early is a tool, not a religion ;)
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Hey Oscar,
Sounds like a great routine man!
One thing I’ve been doing for a while is I try and write my task list out the night before, and then when I wake up, review it and start doing it
Though my day also usually begins with writing ;). I tried starting with meditation, but for me I like getting out of bed and immediately getting myself going on projects – meditating too early seemed to make me a little too calm, whereas if I get started right away I have a real fire to get going and get to work
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Hey Sid, thanks for the advice. I too prefer to meditate later in the day for that reason.
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That’s nice Oscar.I’m looking forward on your morning routine.
By the way Oscar, who were the lucky winners of the books?
just asking..heheheh
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Hey Joel, I’ll publish the winners in just a few hours ;)
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just a few thoughts…If you don’t know what to do with your extra time…don’t do anything…just relax…relax totally…you can’t force yourself to relax either..it has to happen on it’s own..be in relaxation…learn to be with yourself(your true self)….observe and find out who is this part of you that feels that just “being” is not productive or worthy of your time…..
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Hey Ivan, fortunately I’m not a robot, so relaxing is important. Thanks for your comment.
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Hey Oscar, what happened to the Sando in the morning?
I’m still hitting the dojo every morning at 6am with 10 sessions per week total. :)
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Hey AikiLife, I actually do some training during the day. I might start training in the morning once this experiment is over and it’ll be a bit warmer. We’ll see!
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Hey Oscar,
I am curious how this routine has positively affected the rest of your normal work day? Especially now that you implemented a regular routine.
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Hey Jeff, I just got started so.. we’ll see this at the end of these 30 days ;)
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you wait 2.5 hours before you eat breakfast?? don’t you get hungry? don’t you need energy to do those things right when you wake up? i need to eat something and shower before i can get my day started.
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Hey Nicole, I know this is strange, but I can’t eat right when I just woke up. Also here in italy most people don’t get more than a coffe and brioche for breakfast (I eat a toast), so maybe it’s also a cultural thing.
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Inspired by your earlier post on 30 days of waking up at 5am, I have also started this routine. I am now on day 20 and loving the extra time in the morning and the more disciplined sleep pattern I now have.
I hope your new routine works for you. I find that I program for the first few hours in the morning on my own business idea :D It’s quite an encouraging start to the day when it goes well!
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Hey Chris, that’s awesome! If you keep going you’ll make a lot of progress and you’ll be able to try different things. Congratulations!
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Hey Oscar,
I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and I’ve attempted to apply some of the changes to my own life, such as waking up at 5:30 AM and running nightly. I had been keeping up with it until recently. I was just wondering if you had any tips on how to keep up a routine like this.
Thanks!
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Hey Kevin, it’s difficult to generalize but.. if you’re already applying some of these habits already, is there something that prevents you from continuing? Don’t worry about doing everything at once (don’t even try), just pick one habit that you like when you’re ready.
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Well done. I’ve done pretty much exactly what you have this year and can vouch that in a month or so you will start seeing the benefits month after month following this path. All the best!
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Hey Richard, thanks for your support!
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I will be starting my morning routine soonish. Good luck to me, reading this post is an excellent reminder. Keep doing the good work Oscar – I discovered your blog yesterday and I love it.
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Thanks Kali!
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Hey Oscar, I like your blog and I truly want to take this dare, of waking up at 5 am every morning. Can you please tell me how should I get started?
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Hi paul, you can get started by switching your alarm clock back 15 minutes every morning until you reach your goal. that’s one way that worked for many people myself included.
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