How I Became an Early Riser

Anonymous Says:

January 31st, 2007, 20:23 pm

thanks so much for this … i’ve been trying to do this actually for the last several weeks. i’ll try out some of the tips.

tanner_c Says:

January 31st, 2007, 21:20 pm

Good job … I’ve been an early riser for most of my adult life, and I would never trade the quiet of the morning for the late evenings.

Leo Says:

January 31st, 2007, 22:46 pm

Thanks guys … I used to be a night owl, and my justification for not waking early instead was that I could get just as much done at night as I could in the morning.

However, it never worked out that way. I was so tired at night that I would stay up for hours, vegging out in front of the TV or the computer. Not very productive hours.

My time in the morning is much more productive, for me personally. I can focus on my stuff, instead of work stuff.

Anonymous Says:

January 31st, 2007, 23:17 pm

wow - these truly are zen habits. It sounds like you have become an actual zen monk. Next post - how to beat yourself with a bamboo stick for hours a day.

Leo Says:

January 31st, 2007, 23:23 pm

lol. not likely … self-mortification isn’t my thing.

i’m more into simple pleasures, like watching the sun rise or reading when it’s quiet.

also, i know you were joking, but zen monks don’t beat themselves with anything. :)

Tony Says:

February 5th, 2007, 3:29 am

My brain always repeats me… c’mmon 5 more minutes…and i can’t helpgoing back to bed and oversleeping…lol hehehe

Leo Says:

February 5th, 2007, 3:34 am

Hi Tony, thanks for the comment. I definitely know what you mean!

That’s what I meant about not letting your brain rationalize going back to bed. Don’t listen to your brain. Just get up, turn off the alarm clock, and head out the door, no questions. Once you’ve been up for five minutes, perhaps drinking coffee or tea or some water, then you’ll be more awake and more ready to judge your options.

That’s also why a morning routine is good … if you just go through the motions of the routine, you don’t think about what you’re doing or whether you should go back to sleep. You just do it.

Anonymous Says:

February 5th, 2007, 6:43 am

One of the tips you failed include was getting to bed early. You may be more productive for the first few hours but over the long term sleep deprivation will catch up with you.

lesandman Says:

February 5th, 2007, 10:18 am

How many hours do you sleep a day? Is it same on weekends?

Leo Says:

February 5th, 2007, 12:06 pm

Thanks for the tips, guys.

Actually, one of my tips was to go to bed earlier. The problem is that, at first, you might not be used to going to bed at that time, so you might have a problem sleeping. So, I suggested reading in bed. If you’re tired, you’ll fall asleep.

How many hours do I sleep? It depends on when I go to bed (usually between 9:30 and 10:30), but between 6-7 on average. On weekends, I generally wake at the same time, although I might take a nap in the late mornings or sometime in the afternoon on occasion simply because there’s more time on weekends, sometimes. I think 6-7 hours are good enough for me (everyone has different needs). If I begin to get tired, my body will tell me, which is why you should allow yourself to go to bed early if you’re tired.

mark Says:

February 6th, 2007, 12:49 pm

First time reading your blog (via Lifehacker)…great stuff here.

I’m trying to get up earlier as well, so here’s what I’ve started doing to keep myself from flopping back into bed.

When the alarm goes off, I sit up and then put on my running shorts and shoes that I’ve left next to the bed. It’s much harder to go back to sleep with the shoes on, and the habit of putting on the gear reminds me to get out the door…working so far!

Leo Says:

February 6th, 2007, 13:10 pm

Hi Mark, welcome and thanks for the comment. I love your idea. Good luck waking up early! It takes a little while to get used to, but once you do, you’ll love it.

Anonymous Says:

February 9th, 2007, 0:23 am

I seem to have a bigger problem. My brain is smarter than me and so I dream that I have woken up and gone about doing my work. Then at some point into the day in my dream I actually wake up and feel kinda frustrated. Sometimes it is worse, the dreams are nested :)

I am now trying to wake up without an alarm.

Anonymous Says:

February 9th, 2007, 0:41 am

I am the previous poster.
anyway, I came via Lifehacker..
Nice stuff you got here.

Leo Says:

February 9th, 2007, 4:19 am

Yes, the “dreaming you’re awake” syndrome can be a problem. But not an insurmountable one. Try a number of differnt things to help you actually wake up. I suggest a REALLY loud alarm clock that you place across the room. Eventually, you will wake up enough to realize that the alarm is going off (even if you’re still half asleep) and get up to turn it off. If you have to actually get out of bed and walk across the room, you should then be awake enough to realize you’re no longer dreaming.

I’ve had times when I didn’t even wake up, but walked across the room, shut off the alarm, and went back to bed without waking up … those were usually times when I was really really tired. If that’s the case, I suggest going to bed earlier and reading yourself to sleep. I also recommend waking up just a little earlier each day rather than an hour or more.

Good luck, and welcome to my site!

sri Says:

February 9th, 2007, 15:40 pm

Thanks for your suggestion.
“I suggest a REALLY loud alarm clock that you place across the room.”
I used to do this, much to the annoyance of my roommates when I was in school. They finally told me and I have stopped using alarms to wake up, mainly because I don’t respond well to sounds. In fact, my roommates tell me I once slept through a fire alarm incident.

So, now I have stopped trying very hard. I just let myself wake up whenever I wake up. Sometimes it works… sometimes it doesn’t. I realize now that the more you try to control something the more it gets out of control; something similar to Tao.

Before I try to flood your comment box with many “something”s I will stop. It was nice conversing with you.

Thanks again for your suggestions and good luck.

sri

Leo Says:

February 9th, 2007, 17:00 pm

Hi sri … well, if allowing yourself to wake up naturally works best for you, I say go for it. You certainly sound like a sound sleeper … you actually sound a lot like my wife! :)

As for flooding my inbox, don’t give it a second thought … as long as it’s not spam, I enjoy it! As you might have seen in my other post, Email Zen: Clearing your inbox (see sidebar for the link), I power thru my email pretty quickly and keep my inbox empty all the time.

Comment away!

Anonymous Says:

February 15th, 2007, 4:21 am

Hi, good tips! :) thanks for sharing

do you want to know my method for getting up in the morning?
…I have two alarm clocks, one is next to my bed and the other one is in my bathroom.
So.. when the first alarm clock rings, i’m forced to get up and go to the bathroom to stop the second one it starts to ring.
..how clever i am !! :P
giuli

Anonymous Says:

February 15th, 2007, 4:24 am

..sorry, i meant: “..go to the bathroom to stop the second one before it starts to ring.”

giuli

Leo Says:

February 15th, 2007, 12:19 pm

Hi giuli, great comment! Lol. That’s actually an excellent idea. I say do whatever it takes. One of my motivations for getting up quickly is to turn off the alarm clock as soon as possible so it doesn’t wake up the wife and babies.

Anonymous Says:

February 21st, 2007, 0:53 am

Frankly what you have written is much better than pavlina’s article on rising up early.

many thanks for sharing this.

Leo Says:

February 21st, 2007, 3:20 am

I’m glad you enjoyed the article and hope you find it useful. However, I try to avoid disparaging my fellow bloggers … Steve Pavlina’s article is popular for a reason — it’s very useful.

Anonymous Says:

February 21st, 2007, 11:25 am

My trick to getting up more easily was to buy a timer for the bedside lamp. This clicks the light on about 10 minutes ahead of the alarm. It isn’t enough to fully wake me up, but it makes it easier to swing out of bed when the alarm finally goes.

Leo Says:

February 21st, 2007, 12:31 pm

Nice tip! I hadn’t heard this one before.

jeffkee Says:

March 6th, 2007, 14:35 pm

.. it’s too bad I went to bed at 4 last night. But I still got up at 10:30 which is 6.5 hours of sleep - a healthy amount, and I got some reading and such done.

Tiffany Says:

March 6th, 2007, 15:32 pm

I’m a sophomore at a college University taking 18 hours… and people just can’t believe that I wake up at 6 in the morning to make a 9am class. No, I’m not the pretentious girl who spends those 3 hours doing her hair and figuring out what to wear (I only spend about 20 minutes doing that stuff)… but I LOVE to have those hours in the morning to just sit, drink my coffee, eat a good breakfast, figure out what i need to do for the day, and just wake up and prepare my mind for the day. It’s very peaceful.

Morningtime is my favorite time of the day.. and those kids who roll out of bed, put their shoes on and grab a poptart as they run out the door (only to fall back asleep at their desk) are really missing out.

I’m definitely going to raise my kids as morning people!!

**Wonderful article, by the way. I of course could not agree more with you*

Leo Says:

March 6th, 2007, 15:51 pm

@jeffkee … Thanks for the comment. If that works for you, that’s great. But I used to be a night owl and switched to being a morning person and I can testify that it’s great. But everyone’s different, so I’m not knocking your schedule.

@Tiffany: It’s great to hear from another morning person. It sounds like you really get your day off to a great start! Thanks for the nice comments.

clin Says:

March 6th, 2007, 18:09 pm

I once read an article where the person suggested the following idea. He said you should practice waking up.

Basically, he said get into bed, as you normally would, set the alarm for about 15-20 minutes ahead, and lie down and pretend to sleep. Once it goes off, turn the alarm off, head to the bathroom, and start the morning routine.

The idea was to practice this enough so that you would eliminate the “thinking” part from waking up, and go through a morning routine. The claim was that most people try to talk themselves out of waking up, and that’s why it doesn’t work.

Of course, the big problem with this approach is finding the time to practice it.

Leo Says:

March 6th, 2007, 18:20 pm

Thanks for that! I love the idea. Practice makes perfect.

Anonymous Says:

March 6th, 2007, 23:50 pm

I’m a Viet-Nam Vet and suffering with PTSD. I can go to bed early or late and after sleeping an hour or two and experiencing numerous nightmares am suddenly wide awake. I read, surf the net until my eyes get heavy and then go back to bed. After a short period of combat nightmares and restless sleep I’m wide awake again. This has been going on for the past thirty five years. Oh yes, I’m on meds for this but they are changed on a regular basis and don’t seem to work. Good thing that I’m a 100% disabled vet and don’t have to work or put up with kids or a daily schedule. Becouse of my PTSD I have spent most of my past thirty five years in VA mental hospitols and in thearapy. So! You go ahead and toot your horn and tell everyone what works for you but remember one thing! You couldn’t do it if it wern’t for a veteran.

Mike G Says:

March 7th, 2007, 2:45 am

Previously I was a late-riser - anything before 9.30 would make me itch. Then during my final year of university I discovered that if I got up at 6.30 on the day of exams, I would perform significantly better! Now I am a big fan of getting up reasonably early, although 4.30 would be far too much.

Leo Says:

March 7th, 2007, 3:29 am

@Vietnam vet: I work with Vietnam vets who have PTSD every day … part of my job is helping them get their benefits, and working with the VA to improve services for veterans. I am sorry for your condition. I didn’t mean to imply that waking early would work for everyone — obviously those whose medical condition prevents it shouldn’t follow my advice. My intention is to share my experience with those who want to wake up early. If you don’t want to wake up early, or can’t, this article is obviously not for you.

@Mike G: Thanks for sharing your experiences! You and I are proof that night owls can and have changed, and that it can be a good thing. I don’t think people should try to become early risers if that’s not their thing, but I can testify, like you, that it’s nice to wake up early and that it can be done.

Anonymous Says:

March 7th, 2007, 5:12 am

That’s all fine for the few of you that well are choosing to be up that early and your day still starts later. I have to be up at 3 and in work at 4 so by your means to wake up earlier i would be up at midnight. No matter how many times i get up at 3 it is never easier and it’s definitly not rewarding. I always thought i was a morning person getting up at 530 6 oclock. but i was wrong i hate mornings. Just thought i would comment to let some of you who try this that it might not work for you. as everyone is different and operate better at different hours. good luck

Anonymous Says:

March 7th, 2007, 5:42 am

The writer of this article obviously doesn’t have a full time job nor much experience in the real world. What a joke. Get real.

Leo Says:

March 7th, 2007, 5:55 am

“The writer of this article obviously doesn’t have a full time job nor much experience in the real world. What a joke. Get real.”

I’m curious how you came to this conclusion. Not only do I have a full-time job, I work a second job, do this blog, have six kids (with soccer, choir, academic challenge bowl, spelling bee, national junior honor society, parent teacher conferences), am training for a triathlon, among other things. Waking up early helps me be more productive.

jeffkee Says:

March 7th, 2007, 6:58 am

I did have my occasional early-rising spurts that lasted a few days, and it did feel great to be that productive…

I do want to try it again… but since I woke up so late yesterday, I decided it’s easier for me to pull off an all-nighter. It’s 6AM here now - and Ive been working all night and got a lot of stuff done.

I’m going to head out to the cafe to grab a breakfast and tea… thanks for the inspiration.

Leo Says:

March 7th, 2007, 11:59 am

Thanks for the great comment, Jeff. If I’ve inspired you, that’s awesome. Good luck staying up today, and waking up early!

jeffkee Says:

March 7th, 2007, 19:38 pm

I did it.

I stayed up all day and it’s almost 7pm and I’m good.. apart from a 1 hour nap I took.

I wish my body could run on 1 hour of sleep a day - I’d be so much more productive…

Leo Says:

March 7th, 2007, 19:52 pm

You are awesome, Jeff. Congrats on staying up all day … and good luck on waking up early tomorrow! Let me know how it goes. Get to bed early, read in bed, and you should fall asleep easily.

Dario Says:

March 20th, 2007, 11:28 am

Super cool method, Leo! It totally worked out for me! I’m was getting up at 6:00 am so I could leave for work at 8:00 am. Due to some rescheduling, I started to rise at 4:30 am so I could leave for work at 6:30 am! Thanks to zenhabits, I was already used to early rising. The hour and a half of earlier rising was a joke! I woke up first at 5 am and then at 4:30 this morning. Thanks a lot for your help, Leo!

Keep up the good blog!

zenhabits Says:

March 20th, 2007, 12:57 pm

Dario … your comment thrills me to no end. I love getting positive feedback from people, but to hear from someone who actually followed my advice and who it helped … well, that makes my day … my week actually. Thank you for that. And great job with the early rising! I hope you’ve found the early mornings to be as great as I have.

eLindros Says:

March 20th, 2007, 22:07 pm

I really would like to get up so early in the morning. However, as you also note, you need to go to bed early too in order to get at least some hours of sleep. The problem is that my wife is more a night owl and doesn’t think of going to bed early. So, when I change my sleeping hours I’d cut my time with her, too. How do you and your partner (and kids) adjust to each others hours?

zenhabits Says:

March 20th, 2007, 23:18 pm

Great question, eLindros! That’s a tough one. I’d never advocate cutting out time with your wife. However, you might try talking to her about what you’d like to do … perhaps she’d be receptive to the change herself. Another thing to consider is whether you guys actually spend quality time together in the late hours. If not, having different schedules might not be too bad … she could have some time alone at night and you could have alone time in the morning. I really can’t advise as I don’t know your situation, but it’s worth discussing with your wife to see how she feels about it.

As for me, I still stay up later than my wife and kids, so it’s not an issue. She usually goes to bed about 30 minutes earlier than me (or at the same time sometimes) and I get up a couple hours before her. I guess I just need less sleep.

rkz Says:

March 29th, 2007, 15:52 pm

So I agree with the goal but have a far easier method. I set my alarm to 05:00.

also wake up the exact same time every day.

If you can do the first day you are golden, obviously go to sleep earlier. 2200 to bed works for me if im waking up at 5

zenhabits Says:

March 29th, 2007, 18:36 pm

Thanks for the comment, rkz. And yes, it can be that simple, but my suggestions are for the many of us who have some difficulty with early rising. For me, it’s become as simple as setting the alarm for 4:30 a.m. and getting up, but it wasn’t at first. I had to train myself to do that. But I’m glad that’s working for you! - leo

Alexei Says:

April 7th, 2007, 1:54 am

Thanks for the great article, Leo!

I’ve always envied early risers and those who can easily change sleeping hours.

I’ve never been able to fall asleep within less than 20 minutes of going to bed.

For the last couple of years I’ve been trying hard to change my sleeping habits, which were disastrous, to say the least.

It’s taken me 2 years of continuous, conscious and painful effort to train myself to get up no later than at 9 a.m. Now I’m in the process of conditionning myself to get up at 6 a.m.

It’s becoming easier and easier, but it was so hard the first year or so.
I’m fairly confident that I’ll be able to get a habit of rising at 6 a.m. this time.

Thanks again for the great site and for the inspiration!

Monica Ricci Says:

April 15th, 2007, 23:18 pm

I am convinced that certain people are just by nature early risers, while some of us are by nature “night owls”. However, like nearly anything, I also believe we have the power to change ourselves.

I dearly love being awake and I’m super productive in the early quiet of the morning. However, being a night owl, it has never easy for me. Your piece has inspired me to begin changing my belief system and telling myself that I AM A MORNING PERSON and then taking the corresponding action of going to bed earlier (belief without action is futile) and therefore, transform myself INTO a morning person. Thanks for the inspiration!
~Monica

Leo Says:

April 15th, 2007, 23:42 pm

Thanks for the comment, Monica. I myself was a night owl for many years, but switched when I realized that it wasn’t doing me any good. I wanted to get up early to work on my goals and exercise, so I made the conscious and gradual effort to change my “nature”. It worked! I’m a morning person now, and I would never go back.

Good luck with your transformation!

moruku Says:

April 17th, 2007, 18:39 pm

Hello there, thanks alot for sharing this well-written article. You have totally inspired me, altho I seem to have problems fulfilling this since alot of my studying is done late at night, mostly because of me getting help from people living in other timezones. Now-a-days I usually get in bed about 04-05 o’clock, which is very bad, no kidding. I dunno what to do about this problem really, it’s a dilemma bewteen getting back to a regular sleeping routine (preferably being able to get up early) and staying up (too) late to contact the people who help me out with things. I suppose life is about compromising at times…

Leo Says:

April 17th, 2007, 19:04 pm

Hi moruku … thanks for the positive comment! I’m glad if I’ve inspired you. You seem to have a unique problem, and I’m not sure how to advise you … my suggestion is to experiment and find what works for you. Good luck!

Daniel Says:

April 21st, 2007, 4:01 am

Very inspiring…thanks, Leo. Thanks for taking the time to share your goals and successes. I’m just getting into GTD (maybe ZTD!) and am pretty excited about it all. Again, it’s inspiring to read how you’ve changed from a ‘night’ person to getting up early.

Thanks,
Daniel

Leo Says:

April 21st, 2007, 9:40 am

Thanks Daniel! I’m happy if I’ve been inspiring. You can definitely do this, as well as GTD or ZTD. Give it a shot, aim for gradual changes, and focus on making it a habit. Good luck, and email me if you need help.

Hummus guy Says:

April 21st, 2007, 18:35 pm

Just to mention 2 things:
1) I love your writing.
2) one “natural drug” that helps me with sleeps (when I get too off bit), is melatonin (you people know how to use google - so you can search it there).

H.

Leo Says:

April 22nd, 2007, 4:38 am

Thanks Hummus guy! I appreciate the comment.

PC Says:

April 27th, 2007, 3:05 am

Good tips. I’m an early riser and found the tip on putting the alarm clock away from the bed is a great one. I’ve sped up my morning getaway with a few other things.

The first one is not for everyone - shower in the evenings. I take a shower in the evening, then when I get out of bed in the morning, my clothes are laid out for the day (along with a deodorant stick) and I jump straight into them. I was a religious shower in the morning person, but I found myself standing there staring at the tiles thinking of the day to come, and ended wasting a lot of time (and water). Now I stick my head under the tap, wash my face, towel off and do my hair, and you honestly don’t feel much different.

This is not a very Zen approach, but to stop my mind wandering I have a clock in the bathroom right in front of my eyes so I know how I’m doing time-wise. This stops me from getting absorbed in some irrelevancy.

I can get by on 6 hours sleep for one night, but the next night I will need to catch up a bit with 7-8, so my goal is to be in bed by 10-11 for a 5.30 start.

Sekretär des Weltraumpapstes Says:

April 27th, 2007, 13:44 pm

“I started by getting up at 5:30 a.m., then at 5 a.m. When that became a habit, and I had to wake up at 4 a.m. or 3:30 a.m.”

Yeah, I did the same thing - but I did not stop there. I went to waking up at 3 a.m., 2:30 etc. Now I manage to wake up a 10 a.m. of the previous day!!

Charles Says:

May 2nd, 2007, 9:19 am

great blog… i usually get up more than an hour before i have to leave to go to work…still trying to get up earlier.. My problem is that i give myself to many task during this “quiet time” and in the end, i still have to rush out of the door. By the way, what do you do if your spouse works a little later than most and generally stays up later? What is the best way to compromise her “time” with getting to bed earlier?

Leo Says:

May 2nd, 2007, 9:51 am

Hi Charles, thanks for the nice comment. That’s a tough question … and really, I don’t think I can answer it, as it depends on your situation.

My advice would be to either 1) talk with her about your desire to go to bed earlier and perhaps allow each other to have separate alone times, for reading, etc. … or 2) one of you (or both) will have to compromise your schedule so that you can both be awake at the same time — either she gets up earlier or you go to bed later (and probably not wake up earlier). Neither of those is perfect, of course, but like I said, it’s a tough question.

Hardi Says:

May 14th, 2007, 2:35 am

Just thought I’d share my experiences.. :)

Since 3 or 4 months ago, I stopped using my alarm clock. Since my bedroom window faces East, the morning sun wakes me up every morning at about 5 or 5:30. And I just love it! I get to work about 2h before everybody else, and I sometimes do actually more work in those 2h than the rest of the day.. :P

I go to sleep at 23 or 23:30 in the evening, so I get 6h of sleep. If I go any later, I feel sleepy throughout the next day. Or at least until I take a nap somewhere in the afternoon. Btw, I heartilty recommend a 30min nap to everyone! Sometimes I do not even go fully asleep during that time, I sort of hang on the edge of consciousness. When those 30 minutes are up, I usually wake up a few minutes before my alarm feeling so good.. :D

Zenobia Says:

May 28th, 2007, 13:18 pm

Every night I go to bed telling myself that I WILL wake up early! And, I never do! I sleep through alarm clocks. In fact I ended up waking up people in my dorm with the sound of my alarm clock instead of myself! It seems as though my brain has more power over me, and I always seem to sleep in hours more than when I need to wake up! Due to this habit, I’ve not gone to any classes before 12PM that I’ve signed up for last semester! Sometimes I do go to bed pretty late, which supports why I cannot wake up early. BUt, most of the time, It is just NOT an excuse. Any suggestions?

رضا Says:

May 30th, 2007, 10:24 am

It’s very hard to to do it but the profit is better than don’t do that
thanks

شادمانی بی سبب من و رضا

Anonmya Says:

June 7th, 2007, 16:35 pm

Zenobia I hear you. But I can say that it’s much easier to be awakened by sound if I’ve gone to bed early. If I stay up late, nothing will wake me up, no matter how loud, before 8 hours have passed. I hate that other people can get by with only 6-7 hours a night. It’s entirely unfair. If I try and wake up after 6 hours, it takes cold water on my face, a blaring alarm clock and someone literally shoving me out of bed. Then I feel hung over the whole day. That’s why it’s so hard to go to bed early - knowing that the next thing I will experience is a battle in the morning.

Steve Says:

June 8th, 2007, 8:06 am

Hey Zen,

I just picked up on this article. I’ve just started a new personal development blog and this caught my eye. I’ve had an early morning routine for over a year now and never thought about actually writing an article on it - thanks for the tips,

Stephen Martile
Personal Development with NLP
http://www.stephenmartile.com

lucky8 Says:

June 21st, 2007, 4:37 am

I was dubious the first time I read this and didn’t have any intention of trying it. However, recently I started a new job which involved a lot more travelling and my old routine of coming home and writing in the evenings just wasn’t working. So (as of yesterday) I started waking up at 5am so I can get an hour of writing done and I have to say I love it! The house is so peaceful and it’s so much easier to get into the “zone.” Its only been two days now (and admitidly it was a lot harder to wake up today than it was yesterday) but it really feels like a turning point for me. I get to have an hour a day with guaranteed no distractions and as a plus, if I feel like going to the pub with friends after work I can do so guilt free, no need to worry that I’m losing writing time. It’s fantastic and I thank you Leo for giving me this idea as well as many others on your excellent site.

Svakanda Says:

July 13th, 2007, 16:31 pm

Hi Leo… Thankyou so much for the wondrous articles. I really enjoy reading your blog since I del.icio’d my way upon it several weeks ago. I even send your articles to my mother(she wouldn’t read it if I just sent her the link)!

I LOVE morning magic, but like so many of us out there, do have a difficult time syncing my schedule so that I get to experience it. I am going to try and utilize some of your suggestions here to help myself with that. I thought I’d also point out something of my own experiences.

It is very simple, but I am surprised at how long it took me to make the correlation. The amount of exercise I get during the day, directly affects how easily I fall asleep at night.

If I spend my entire day working(with computers, in an office) then I go home, don’t feel tired and stay up until I am exhausted at 2 or 3 in the morning.

If I take the time to get out of the city after work, wander around the residential districts for a while, or perhaps go to the climbing wall, I sleep like an early babe.

Thanks again for the help, I’ll be back!

Dennis Bjørn Petersen Says:

July 16th, 2007, 5:06 am

Because of this my wife an I are getting 15 minutes earlier out of bed (6.30 am). I think we’ll change it to 6.20 am eventually. Work starts at 8.00 am and it takes 10 mins. to drive to work.

We might as well get used to this. In two months we’ll have our first child, so no more sleeping late ;)

J J KUMAR (Qatar) Says:

July 24th, 2007, 4:28 am

getting up early is a wonderful concept.
normally i get up 5.30 am.
now i intend to get up still early because when i come out to jog i see lot of people already there jogging!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dorie007 Says:

July 29th, 2007, 14:10 pm

Leo thanks for the great tips on getting up early. i have been beating myself up for years about my sleeping in habits. my work hours are flexible so since i am not a 9 to 5er, i give myself the excuse of waking up late and going to bed late. whenever i have an early morning meeting (9am) it’s very difficult somewhat painful for me to get up. i’ve always envied the early riser. i am going to start trying your tips right away. i believe the morning hours would be so much more productive than waking up late starting my work day late then straying up to 3 am working on my laptop in bed. my entire body is aching in the morning from the un natural positions i put myself in working in bed. before i became a lap top user i did not have this habit of up staying up all night and sleeping in. thanks again, i will let you know how it goes!

Mai Says:

August 7th, 2007, 11:06 am

I’ve been reading your blog for a few weeks now and although I’m a “night owl” I decided to make the change. Yesterday was tough, but today I got up at 7:30 and it was a little painful but I forced myself to just stand up and go wash my face. I’m going to keep getting up 15 minutes earlier each day to gradually make it to 6am.

Loren Says:

August 8th, 2007, 16:40 pm

I get up at 4 a.m. - on the rare occasion i wake up past 7 i feel like i’ve wasted the day, waking up early is a MUST :) Great post

Gr8fl1 Says:

August 15th, 2007, 18:08 pm

One tip that has helped me wake up right before the alarm clock is to visualize the time I want to get up in my head. Thinking about the time (say 4:03 a.m.) before I go to sleep helps my body get up at that time. I do this in conjunction with focusing on slowing my breathing pattern.

I found trying to match my breathing to my heart rate helps me fall asleep faster, as I focus on that and it blocks those random thoughts and worries from keeping you up.

My Dad taught me the time visual trick and he gets up at the same time every morning without an alarm clock. Working for him for over 30 years.

Aurus Says:

August 21st, 2007, 9:17 am

Thanks for the tips, they’re great. I especially like “Make waking up early a reward.” I’ve never thought of it that way.

forrest Says:

August 21st, 2007, 20:44 pm

Thank you for this website. It has a soothing quality and is interesting. I clicked on the link to read about how you “recently gave up coffee” but the link doesn’t work. I would really like to read about that.

I love the early morning; thank you for the inspiration to shift my schedule back that direction.

mom2boys Says:

August 22nd, 2007, 22:34 pm

I’m going to give this a try. I lie awake late at night. Once I fall asleep, I sleep; and sleep, and sleep. I will also sleep through alarms. I’ve also walked across the room, turned it off, and went back to bed.My husband doesn’t understand. He just thinks I’m lazy. I will sleep as long as I possibly can. But at night…there I am, wide awake. I’ve tried reading. Doesn’t always work. I know I’m a sad excuse, but I need help. I’m always grouchy in the mornings too. It’s no fun for me or my family. Any other suggestions?

Lila Says:

August 28th, 2007, 7:29 am

Hi there, interesting blogs and comments. I came across it because I was looking for ways to make getting up in the morning less stressful for me. (I have to get up at 7am 5 times a week for work, and whatever I do, getting up at that time feels deeply unpleasant, especially in the winter).
I had a job for a while where I had to get up at 5.30, but even though I started my day earlier, I just got tired earlier too, so nothing gained there.

If I didn’t have to, I’d not feel the need to get up early in the morning and I have to speak up for all the late risers in the world who are by no means any less productive than early risers. I’m at my most productive at night. I write in my free time, and I feel a lot more creative in the evenings than in the mornings, when I’ve got the full day of work and other commitments coming up distracting me.

I think we all have our inner clocks and know what works best for us, in a way it’s a shame that in most full time jobs, early risers are better off…

Lila Says:

August 28th, 2007, 7:32 am

Sorry, I don’t want to spam, but I just saw that ironically my post is timestamped at 7.29am, which is quite funny since there’s no way that I’d be at work at that time or have time to go on the internet before work. I’m in Europe where it’s now lunchtime ;-)

Night Owl Says:

August 30th, 2007, 20:41 pm

Very interesting article and well written. Unfortunately, as I “suffer” from something called delayed sleep phase syndrome (check it on Wikipedia, if you’re interested), it won’t make much difference. Took me years to find out that was the reason I could never get up early for prolonged periods of time. Maybe some readers of this blog who also have tried again and again to change their sleep cycle will find this information helpful.
I’m actually quite productive and happy with the way I’m living, going to bed at around 4 am, getting up at 11, but then as a freelance writer I hardly ever have to worry about the times I keep.
Plus, I also get to see the sun come up in the summer, right before I go to bed. :)

JB Glossinger Says:

October 2nd, 2007, 19:42 pm

Great content! I am going to do this on my website as an experiment. I do not have to get up, but I want to change all that. You can follow my progress at: http://www.morningcoach.com

Deirdre Says:

October 29th, 2007, 11:12 am

Love these suggestions. My biggest challenge has been that my husband is a light sleeper. So if I set my alarm for 5:30, he’ll wake up as well, and he has difficulty getting back to sleep (he gets up at 7). I’ve tried training myself w/o an alarm, but haven’t been successful. Any ideas?
BTW, just discovered your site via Ali Edwards, and LOVE all the ideas here.

Tercüme bürosu Says:

October 30th, 2007, 16:33 pm

Nice tip! I hadn’t heard this one before…

Paula Says:

November 5th, 2007, 21:36 pm

I’m not quite sure if I can ever wake up earlier than I do now. I usually DO just hit the snooze button. Maybe I’ll give it a try and finish up all my homework (darn that college midterm week. hah!) and get an early sleep. Thanks for the tips! I’ll be coming back.

Andurial Says:

December 9th, 2007, 4:57 am

=D i think that article is the answer to my prayers!
you see, i always snooze my alarm.. now i’ll know to keep it at a distance ^.^ thanks

oliver Says:

December 12th, 2007, 7:54 am

I always wake up early, ussually at 4 am, because as a moslem I have to pray every early morning (so called subuh) about 5 minutes. Beside, I have a baby, he always wake up early morning.. he is my nature alarm

Christian Says:

December 13th, 2007, 10:33 am

Make waking up early a reward.
[…]recently cut out coffee[..]
The link doesn’t work :(

Will Says:

December 26th, 2007, 1:42 am

Hi, I just stumbled on your blog. I am college student struggling with motivation, organization, and overall productivity. I really like your blog! I’m glad you are honest about telling what has really worked for you. I find that most websites are very unhelpful in this field because they just tell you that you should do whatever works for you. I’m sitting here trying to get a routine down for next quarter and I don’t know what the heck would work for me. Your advise sounds great and I will definitely be putting some of it to use!

WordPress SEO Says:

December 26th, 2007, 20:48 pm

I think you are being a bit too hard on night work. After one’s girlfriend (or boyfriend) has gone to bed and the office is empty of all employees is an ideal time to focus and be creative as well.

But interesting to hear from the other side of the fence.

It looks like children play a big role in the decision.

Will Says:

February 4th, 2008, 13:08 pm

Hey Leo,

I just discovered your blog through a recommendation of a friend of mine. I enjoyed this post as well as Steve Pavlina’s. I actually read his first, and tried to implement it.. an well, failed due to catching a cold a couple of weeks ago. It’s a challenge (as I love sleeping) in, but I’m committing myself to getting back to that routine.

I just love to read about other people’s experiences, as it’s nice to know I can relate to other people who have went through similar challenges and overcame them.

Great content here!

Leo, I’ll make you a deal. Keep on pumping out great content, and I’ll keep on reading and share with you my experiences :)

Yours truly

- Will

blair Says:

March 5th, 2008, 0:53 am

i always had a problem with snoozing my alarm right after it goes off. i hope to get rid of that habit soon.

Felicity Says:

March 23rd, 2008, 16:21 pm

Great post:):) I like everything you write! It makes sense:)and helps me a lot!!!

Heal Says:

April 3rd, 2008, 15:13 pm

This is the most important:) put your alarm clock far from you bed.

Jack Benson Says:

April 8th, 2008, 5:26 am

After reading pavlina’s blog, I have decided to give early rising a try as well, as I really hated the amount of snoozing that I was doing, effectively just wasting 30 minutes a day; I wasn’t getting any sleep, I wasn’t doing anything productive, and I can’t even say that it was enjoyable. I’m on Day 5 and feeling fine, although I’m really unhappy for those first 10 minutes of the day/

James Bondze Says:

April 22nd, 2008, 20:06 pm

This is a great post, I’ll like to start practicing this today.
But its quite hard for me. I’ve been trying to be an early riser but my body just won’t conform, i hope by the time this really gets into me i’ll be able rise up at least 5:30am and if it gets ok i’ll do 5.00am.
Thanks for this leo
I just got to this site
Thanks.