The Benefits of Being an Early Bird

Ask yourself:

How many times did you hit your snooze button this morning?
Did you allow yourself just enough time to get ready before you frantically left your house to start your day?
Do you go to bed feeling like you got nothing accomplished?
Do you tell yourself you just don’t have the time to do the things you want?

I ask you these questions because this was my routine for years. I get pretty pissed at myself when I think about how I was living my life and all the excuses I was making.

Every morning I would sleep as long as possible, as a result of staying up way too late doing nothing productive. I was just scrolling through my phone, searching for self-validation or was obsessed with other people’s lives.

I was unaware that I was stressing myself out and starting my day off on the wrong foot. I’m naturally wired and move quickly with a purpose in everything I do, but when I have a small time frame to get ready and be somewhere, I tend to become a spaz.

Nobody likes a spaz…..

I would leave the house mad. This resulted in me swearing at slow traffic because I hadn’t allowed optimal time to commute to work. Everything was everyone else’s fault as I found myself clocking in right on the dot.

Every morning was a close call.

By the time I came home at nights from working two jobs, I felt like a zombie. I tried to get work done but the only thing I was capable of doing was drawing as a way to relax. I don’t need to think when I draw, however there was so many other things I wanted to do in order to take the next step in my career. I kept telling myself that there wasn’t any time to take on new tasks.

You know how much I hate it when people make the excuse that they don’t have enough time right? Well the fact I used to say it is the main reason why it gets me so upset.

In 2015, I started started changing my perspective and devouring self-help material. The reoccurring theme was that people make the time to get things done by waking up early and putting their focus into their most important tasks.

Show me one millionaire who is a night owl and I’ll show you 10 more millionaires who are early birds

These people aren’t afraid to make the time and start something. They take action in their lives, which I will discuss more in depth in next weeks post, however, today I’m going to share 8 reasons that you should wake up early.

1. You Can Focus On What’s Most Important

The reason I get up early is to put all my attention into the work that is most important to me. This is the work that will allow my vision of Perspective-Collective to take shape.

You have the opportunity to be proactive and take initiative by working on the things you always wish you had time to work on. The excuse of not having time isn’t valid anymore and it is extremely over played.

If something is important to you, you will find a way to get it done. No excuses.

As an early bird, I take care of business. I’ve accomplished more in the last five months by getting up early than I have in the past year and a half. This also means that my biggest results have come in this time period as I need to keep resetting bigger goals since I’m crushing them too quickly.

When you focus on what’s most important to you in the morning, you begin taking the necessary actions in order to stay in the right direction no matter if you fail. All the reactive work and tending to other peoples priorities comes after you take care of yourself.

You have to selfish in order to be selfless. You have to put yourself first in order to get to where you want to be. Once you work on yourself, you can serve others throughout the day.

2. You’re Up Before the World

I know I say “The Early Bird Gets the Worm,” however, I’m up before the birds start chirping.

There is something magical about being up before the rest of the world. I know that’s not technically true due to different time zones, but in my head, it’s a mentality that I’m up and working harder than the next person, or bird. :)

Granted it’s not a competition, but then again it’s a healthy, competitive characteristic in me that keeps me driven to work hard and produce.

When you’re up before the world, you don’t have to deal with the constant stream of people and media begging for your attention. It’s so much easier to block out distractions and stay focused because you haven’t gone through a whole day of dealing with other people, places and things. Most importantly, I’m able to collect my thoughts.

There’s just silence and it’s powerful.

It is currently 4:45 a.m. as I'm writing and it is pitch black outside. I have my coffee and water and it’s completely quiet in my office as well as outdoors. This is literally the most calming and relaxing environment I’ve ever found myself in.

I get some of my best work done with this creative ritual. Working in the dark and silence is awesome, but I haven’t even gotten to the best part.

3. Watching the Sunrise = Hustle & Gratitude

This may sound cheesy, but waking up early allows you to drown yourself in the beautiful sunrise.

I’ve put in a solid hour of work before it rises and I’m feeling pretty good about myself at that moment. Then it starts to appear slowly, painting the sky and everything around me in bright colors. It’s like God is slowly turning on a light switch.

There is something spectacular in seeing all the different sunrises each morning. You get to soak in the beauty and actually appreciate being alive. I feel like I’m actually living in the moment, when I’ve never experienced this before.

You become aware of yourself and who you are, and what you're trying to accomplish in life. You’re subconsciously practicing forms of mindfulness.

We are so wrapped up in rushing to our next destination and completing the next task on the agenda that we miss the opportunities to soak up nature’s masterpieces that are all around us.

By the time I’ve been able to soak up the sunrise and reflect a little bit, I feel re-energized and find a new level of focus to finish what I was working on.

Any ounce of sleepiness I was still recovering from has vanished. I’m filled with gratitude and a hustler’s mentality.

4. Feel Accomplished Before You Start Your Day

Focusing on your most important, creative work in the morning will start your day off feeling accomplished. You get a sense that you’re actually making progress toward the long game.

The old me always went to work angry because I had to start my day off by focusing on other peoples problems. The first thing I would do is check my emails to make sure I could attend to someones needs pronto.

There is always a full inbox. Go figure.

“At least it’s nice to be needed,” I told myself.

But who am I kidding, this sucks. I felt like I was missing something. I didn’t understand how other people found the time to be so productive and work towards the life they wanted to live. Surely they were working late nights after all their other duties that paid the bills.

I know by the time I get home, I’m drained and there’s not much energy nor focus left to tend to the work that’s been reoccurring on my to-do list. It takes a lot of energy running around all day tending to peoples priorities.

I finally discovered the secret to obtaining that sense of feeling accomplished prior to any of my adult responsibilities. The key is to get up early.

The feeling of accomplishment is a rush and becomes an addiction. A good addiction that I’m happily giving into.

5. You Increase Productivity

The reason I feel so accomplished when I head off to my big boy job is due to my productivity levels sky rocketing through the roof.

I’m churning through large amounts of work and burning through my goals on my white board.

It feels like my work can’t keep up with me for once.

You begin perfecting your routine and optimizing your workflow. The frequency of how much you’re putting out allows you to confidently take on more tasks that would once be intimidating to take on because you didn’t think you’d have the time.

I’m a stickler in the belief that we need to deliver and produce good work. When you’re up early and being productive, I promise this will be your outcome.

People will notice your work ethic and results. It is contagious.

6. Reduce Your Stress

When you aren’t rushing yourself to be somewhere, your stress levels drastically decrease.

The guy who would speed to work swearing and swinging aggressive hand gestures to the other motorists is long gone. That guy was kind of a douche. I hope if you’re reading this and can relate that you’re taking this to heart.

Getting up early allows plenty of time to get ready in the mornings. There is so much peace and tranquility with working in silence and watching the sunrise that there is no way stress can invade your bubble.

Once I’ve hit my routined allotment of work, I gradually make my way into getting ready. This is when I continue the positive affirmation as I listen to the “Daily Boost: Motivation to Move Podcast.”

Scott, the gentleman behind the podcast is extra cheesy but I’ve grown to appreciate it. He delivers encouragement and value and you can sense his genuine happiness. It’s tough to be rushed and stressed out when you’re soaking up his good vibes.

7. Discover Your Love for Writing

The world is still sleeping and there is no noise or distractions, this means it is the perfect time for my writing.

I’m still new to writing but it’s been an amazing experience. I am beginning to discover who I truly am as an artist and as a person. It’s helping shape my core values and in return, creating something meaningful that I can share with the world.

All these years I’ve had so much to say but didn’t know how to say it. Drawing was my only creative outlet. I had given up music long ago because I put all my focus into sports. I didn’t realize during the nine years of playing the drums and taking piano lessons that these were emotional outlets. My mom was right, I would end up missing those days.

Having a way to escape, cope and express yourself is important and it’s great if you have multiples avenues of doing this. As much as I desire to get back into music, writing has filled that void.

I’ve tried writing on lunch or at night, but my head is filled with distractions from things that have happened throughout my day. I get massive writer’s block so it doesn't work out too well.

Mornings are the best time to get whatever is in my head onto paper or the computer screen. It’s when I think with the most clarity and am capable of translating my thoughts into something visual and meaningful.

8. You’ll Sleep Like a Baby

The final benefit of waking up early is that I am finally able to shut my body down and sleep at night.

If you know me personally, you’ve probably heard me say a million times that I’m not able to shut my body and mind off at night. I would tell myself I was naturally wired and I had so many ideas that I couldn’t turn my brain off and sleep.

It would literally take me 1–2 hours minimum to finally fall asleep after laying down. This resulted in me going to bed after 1 a.m. every night. No wonder I was hitting the snooze button and stressing myself out in the mornings.

It’s still true that I have a million good ideas buzzing in my noggin’, but the reason they were so active at night is because I spent my whole day focusing on everyone else’s priorities. By the time I got home and settled in, I wanted to take care of my work but I had no physical or mental energy to tend to any of it. My ideas would bounce around in my head and keep me awake.

When I have these great ideas at night now, I jot them down quickly and prepare them into my following morning routine if they are high priority and relative. I’m so exhausted from waking up and hustling early then grinding all day that my mind and body can’t wait to relax and catch some rest.

It’s been the best sleep I can ever remember having.

Are You Ready to Make the Change?

You may be thinking this sounds enticing but you tell yourself you’re not a morning person. This isn’t supposed to be easy and I struggle with it every day, but the results speak for themselves.

I told myself that I wasn’t a morning person. There is still a tiny voice in my head that begs me to stay up late and scroll through my feeds or watch a documentary on Netflix. This is the same voice that begs me to hit the snooze button in the morning. Doing this will never get you to your goals and will keep you working a job you don’t want to be at.

Push that snooze button and you’ll end up working for someone who didn’t.

I saw that quote on Instagram from the account @Daily.Dose and it’s forever rooted in my memory. Every time the little voice tries to whine and complain, I shut it up real quick by reciting that to myself.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Creative work first, reactive work second
Waking up before the world means less distractions
Watching the sunrise can be enlightening
Feeling accomplished means you’re progressing
Productivity = good work and results
More time = less stress
Writing is a creative outlet
Sleep like a baby

Each week I leave you with a call to action. This week I challenge you to get to bed earlier than normal and prepare one task that you’ve been wanting to get done for the longest time. Get up early and finish the task or at least get a good start on it.

Fight off the tiny voice in your head and I guarantee you will start experiencing the same benefits that I have. If you tried this and it's working, please email me and share your results, I’d love to hear about it.

Now go get up before the birds.

–

If you have found value in this post, you can share this or sign up for my weekly newsletter. If you have any questions or topics you’d like me to address, please feel free to email me directly as I’d love to hear from you so I can keep growing as an artist and a teacher.

Wake Up Before the Birds: 8 Reasons You Should Get Up Early