I also read the 5am club book and it was so awfully written! Yet I read the entire thing?! I do wake at 5 and it hurts most of the time. I have two kids and I feel like my motivation to do it is so I get some time to myself. And waking up with my kids with all their requests is not how I like to start my day.
I love that you took what works for you. Sometimes we kick ourselves for not following what these books suggest we do but I’m with you, do what works for you!
hahaha Stephanie that's the most accurate description of the book. When I started it, I was like there is no way I'm finishing this, and yet I did. Kids are a great example of how the seasons of our life changes our needs too. I imagine having that little bit of time to yourself, like you mention, outweigh the challenges of waking of early. And yes, to me it's the kicking ourselves that's the worst part! Good habits or not, feeling bad about it just makes everything worse. Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment!
Firstly, I like that you don't want to murder the birds! That's a relief XD.
Let me say, I know the pain of waking up absurdly early. I mean, I just did that for an entire month (you know why).
But on a more serious note, you make a very important point with this piece. You can't and mustn't mold yourself into someone else's productivity mode. That is a recipe for failure. We all must find that groove that works best for us.
Kudos for trying this path. But even more kudos for calling it quits. People forget that calling it quits is not an easy task for many.
hahaha luckily I'm more well rested these days! Ishan, I don't know how you do it and I hope you slept through the whole last week! I agree, "molding yourself into someone else's productivity mode" is such a great way to say it. I think we do it without even realizing it. I know I used to be tempted by the idea that there are some hacks or short cuts to productivity but there rarely is anything better than knowing yourself and finding the best path for each of us. Thank you for the thoughtful comment!
HAHA "sales emails are such a waste of muse." You've a sub-expertise brewing in footnote humour. This essay is brimming with self-understanding, self-trust, and self-compassion. I wish we are all able to teach that to our children. Iterate, see what feels good, let go of what doesn't with self-understanding.
For me, I couldnt reject the shoulds of self help books because I was raised on so many shoulds already. So I was wired to obey the shoulds without question, and even my rebellions were just shoulds masquerading as choices. I really admire that you knew what it meant for something to work for you and could be honest about it early enough.
PS: I wonder if I should link some of your essays (like this one) to the line in mine, where I bet on you having done a ton of inner work. <3
hahaha Ever since I've discovered footnotes, I've been having so much fun with them. I love that as a life lesson for kids. It's a journey I feel like so many adults are on, but really the best tools are the ones that let us become the best version of ourselves.
Your perspective is so interesting too and I loved your perspective on self help in one of your previous essays. I even relate to this - "even my rebellions were just shoulds masquerading as choices." As a rebellious personality type myself, I also have to be careful not to swing to the other side just for the sake of it.
Also, LOL to linking the essay, I didn't even put that together but of course, you were right on the nose! Loved your piece, which I know you know but I'll link it here in case anyone is curious.
From one night owl to another - thanks for normalizing not fitting into the “5AM” mold. I’ve also experimented with early mornings, but time and again, I’ve fallen back into working late at night (when I’m feeling most energized). Happy someone finally said it’s OK not to get the worm.
Giiiiiirl, you are in my head!!! In a previous sabbatical, I let my body wake up on its own and it felt amazing! This time around I was also wanting to be part of the 5AM club after reading the book and so signed up to do 6AM bikram yoga everyday. I’m sure this mentality is why I ended up getting sick twice in two weeks, once with COVID during WOP11. 🤣🤣.
hahaha Maymie I loved this comment! I'm so happy you let your body do the talking. I have done the same and do the same. I'll sign up for early classes which I do love, but then I also end up crashing for a nap around 9am.
So interesting to see this perspective. I've been getting up at 5-6 am for decades. It started in college so I could go to the gym before my morning classes, and I just never stopped. It's the most productive part of my day, and if I sleep in, it throws my entire day off. Literally, the day is wasted if I sleep in until 7-8. For some reason, I can't recover, lol. Awesome to see you were willing to give it a shot, and ultimately figured out what worked for you.
I'm most impressed you started in college! I really do believe that some people are better suited for the morning and other nights. My sister is like you, she has a crazy internal clock for sunrise and is immediately ready for any morning activity. Sometimes that includes barging into my room and opening up my blinds for sunshine haha. Thank you for the comment Randy!
Today was another day in which I planned to get up at 8am and then pressed snoozed 5x. Intending/desiring to get up earlier to jumpstart the day is my keystone version of “insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” There are a lot of invisible scripts many of us have around the sanctity/maturity/obligatory importance of getting up earlier. Thanks for writing this to help us rethink its utility and benefit in our own lives!
Thank you so much for this comment Jared! I laughed at the "keystone version of insanity" because I'm also even still guilty of this. I have to remind myself sometimes that it's better to sleep in if I have the opportunity then to ruin the last hour of my sleep. I love your takeaway, they really are invisible scripts that I think most of us have from a young age and that is constantly reinforced everywhere. I appreciate the thoughtful comment!
Ha! This is timely for me as I'm coming to the slow realization that I'm not as much of a morning person as I thought I was and that maybe I just have to accept that and adjust my schedule accordingly instead of starting my day with the poignant disappointment that "my morning was gone," because I snoozed the alarm clock three times.
And I'm also going to turn off my alarm clock (finally). You wrote it so I'm blaming you.
Hahaha I'm glad Camilo! Sleep in! Or do whatever feels right, I am definitely pro turning off the alarm. I read somewhere once that someone said, "being rich is being able to wake up without an alarm" or something along those lines and it's one little habit that makes me feel like I have all the wealth I need in the world. I could go on too about how I think you need like three months to catch up on sleep debt after leaving corporate. I relate so much to this comment. It's funny though because I went from feeling lazy from sleeping in to now being fiercely protective of my sleep. I didn't realize how tired I was in my twenties!
"Just because Robin Sharma dedicated a whole book to it, doesn’t mean it is the right fit for me." We need so many more examples of this, the willingness to trust ourselves and experiment and find what works. To me sharing examples like this are actually what leadership is all about.
Thank you so much Rick! That's very kind of you to say, and I think it is in these moments that we evolve. Trusting ourselves is a great way to phrase it!
First of all, I’m happy for the birds lol. Okay, on a serious note, self help haven’t seemed to helped me too haha tbh. Like you, I also happen to be a night person, after countless multiple attempts I have finally decided to listen to my body. It’s working well, and I also love waking up without “BEEP BEEP BEEP”.
hahaha luckily no birds were harm in the making of this essay! I love to hear that as a fellow night person Shivam! I loved *reading* during my self help phase, but when I look back, it was really only one or two books that had a big impact. Maybe that's hard to predict ahead of time, but I find myself good in that genre haha. Thank you for the comment!
I could relate to this in a big way. Around ten years ago I read a book called "The Miracle Morning," which was also about waking up at 5am. I did it for a month and realized it wasn't for me. You hit the nail on the head that there isn't some hard-and-fast trick that works for everyone, despite what these books would have you believe.
Man, there are so many books dedicated to waking up early! I'm sure it's nice if it ends up being a good fit. I'm so happy to hear someone else went through the same thing I did. It's true, the books don't seem to suggest it's a nice thing to try, instead they really emphasize that it's life changing! Thank you for the comment Justin!
This is so interesting Roman! I always thought chronotype mostly referred to sleep schedule, but your piece has me thinking about how food and other things play a role. I find even throughout the month, my sleep schedule for example varies. I think I may be a bear too, 2p-4p is my least productive time of day, which maybe I should adjust for that.
I also read the 5am club book and it was so awfully written! Yet I read the entire thing?! I do wake at 5 and it hurts most of the time. I have two kids and I feel like my motivation to do it is so I get some time to myself. And waking up with my kids with all their requests is not how I like to start my day.
I love that you took what works for you. Sometimes we kick ourselves for not following what these books suggest we do but I’m with you, do what works for you!
hahaha Stephanie that's the most accurate description of the book. When I started it, I was like there is no way I'm finishing this, and yet I did. Kids are a great example of how the seasons of our life changes our needs too. I imagine having that little bit of time to yourself, like you mention, outweigh the challenges of waking of early. And yes, to me it's the kicking ourselves that's the worst part! Good habits or not, feeling bad about it just makes everything worse. Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment!
Firstly, I like that you don't want to murder the birds! That's a relief XD.
Let me say, I know the pain of waking up absurdly early. I mean, I just did that for an entire month (you know why).
But on a more serious note, you make a very important point with this piece. You can't and mustn't mold yourself into someone else's productivity mode. That is a recipe for failure. We all must find that groove that works best for us.
Kudos for trying this path. But even more kudos for calling it quits. People forget that calling it quits is not an easy task for many.
hahaha luckily I'm more well rested these days! Ishan, I don't know how you do it and I hope you slept through the whole last week! I agree, "molding yourself into someone else's productivity mode" is such a great way to say it. I think we do it without even realizing it. I know I used to be tempted by the idea that there are some hacks or short cuts to productivity but there rarely is anything better than knowing yourself and finding the best path for each of us. Thank you for the thoughtful comment!
HAHA "sales emails are such a waste of muse." You've a sub-expertise brewing in footnote humour. This essay is brimming with self-understanding, self-trust, and self-compassion. I wish we are all able to teach that to our children. Iterate, see what feels good, let go of what doesn't with self-understanding.
For me, I couldnt reject the shoulds of self help books because I was raised on so many shoulds already. So I was wired to obey the shoulds without question, and even my rebellions were just shoulds masquerading as choices. I really admire that you knew what it meant for something to work for you and could be honest about it early enough.
PS: I wonder if I should link some of your essays (like this one) to the line in mine, where I bet on you having done a ton of inner work. <3
hahaha Ever since I've discovered footnotes, I've been having so much fun with them. I love that as a life lesson for kids. It's a journey I feel like so many adults are on, but really the best tools are the ones that let us become the best version of ourselves.
Your perspective is so interesting too and I loved your perspective on self help in one of your previous essays. I even relate to this - "even my rebellions were just shoulds masquerading as choices." As a rebellious personality type myself, I also have to be careful not to swing to the other side just for the sake of it.
Also, LOL to linking the essay, I didn't even put that together but of course, you were right on the nose! Loved your piece, which I know you know but I'll link it here in case anyone is curious.
https://diffuseattention.substack.com/p/good-reply-game-is-good-life-game?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
From one night owl to another - thanks for normalizing not fitting into the “5AM” mold. I’ve also experimented with early mornings, but time and again, I’ve fallen back into working late at night (when I’m feeling most energized). Happy someone finally said it’s OK not to get the worm.
Let the worms go! So interesting to hear you are a night owl too and yet you accomplish so much! Thank you for the comment John!
"The secret was separating the confident “shoulds” of each book with what I observed was best for me."
There it is. ✨✨✨✨✨
💛 thank you for the comment and sprinkles of magic! And also for partially inspiring this piece.
Giiiiiirl, you are in my head!!! In a previous sabbatical, I let my body wake up on its own and it felt amazing! This time around I was also wanting to be part of the 5AM club after reading the book and so signed up to do 6AM bikram yoga everyday. I’m sure this mentality is why I ended up getting sick twice in two weeks, once with COVID during WOP11. 🤣🤣.
hahaha Maymie I loved this comment! I'm so happy you let your body do the talking. I have done the same and do the same. I'll sign up for early classes which I do love, but then I also end up crashing for a nap around 9am.
Really liked that you mentioned taking what you need from self-help/productivity type reads! It's never a one-size-fits-all, is it?! :)
Thank you Jess! It really never is. It's not all bad or all good, just about finding what works best for us.
So interesting to see this perspective. I've been getting up at 5-6 am for decades. It started in college so I could go to the gym before my morning classes, and I just never stopped. It's the most productive part of my day, and if I sleep in, it throws my entire day off. Literally, the day is wasted if I sleep in until 7-8. For some reason, I can't recover, lol. Awesome to see you were willing to give it a shot, and ultimately figured out what worked for you.
I'm most impressed you started in college! I really do believe that some people are better suited for the morning and other nights. My sister is like you, she has a crazy internal clock for sunrise and is immediately ready for any morning activity. Sometimes that includes barging into my room and opening up my blinds for sunshine haha. Thank you for the comment Randy!
Today was another day in which I planned to get up at 8am and then pressed snoozed 5x. Intending/desiring to get up earlier to jumpstart the day is my keystone version of “insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” There are a lot of invisible scripts many of us have around the sanctity/maturity/obligatory importance of getting up earlier. Thanks for writing this to help us rethink its utility and benefit in our own lives!
Thank you so much for this comment Jared! I laughed at the "keystone version of insanity" because I'm also even still guilty of this. I have to remind myself sometimes that it's better to sleep in if I have the opportunity then to ruin the last hour of my sleep. I love your takeaway, they really are invisible scripts that I think most of us have from a young age and that is constantly reinforced everywhere. I appreciate the thoughtful comment!
Sleep in vs ruining the last hour of sleep. Very important distinction to remember! Pocketing this 🙏🏻
Ha! This is timely for me as I'm coming to the slow realization that I'm not as much of a morning person as I thought I was and that maybe I just have to accept that and adjust my schedule accordingly instead of starting my day with the poignant disappointment that "my morning was gone," because I snoozed the alarm clock three times.
And I'm also going to turn off my alarm clock (finally). You wrote it so I'm blaming you.
Hahaha I'm glad Camilo! Sleep in! Or do whatever feels right, I am definitely pro turning off the alarm. I read somewhere once that someone said, "being rich is being able to wake up without an alarm" or something along those lines and it's one little habit that makes me feel like I have all the wealth I need in the world. I could go on too about how I think you need like three months to catch up on sleep debt after leaving corporate. I relate so much to this comment. It's funny though because I went from feeling lazy from sleeping in to now being fiercely protective of my sleep. I didn't realize how tired I was in my twenties!
I love the success of failure! Wonderful essay! Thank you.
Thank you so much James! There's so much to learn in our little failures, I appreciate the comment!
"Just because Robin Sharma dedicated a whole book to it, doesn’t mean it is the right fit for me." We need so many more examples of this, the willingness to trust ourselves and experiment and find what works. To me sharing examples like this are actually what leadership is all about.
Thank you so much Rick! That's very kind of you to say, and I think it is in these moments that we evolve. Trusting ourselves is a great way to phrase it!
First of all, I’m happy for the birds lol. Okay, on a serious note, self help haven’t seemed to helped me too haha tbh. Like you, I also happen to be a night person, after countless multiple attempts I have finally decided to listen to my body. It’s working well, and I also love waking up without “BEEP BEEP BEEP”.
hahaha luckily no birds were harm in the making of this essay! I love to hear that as a fellow night person Shivam! I loved *reading* during my self help phase, but when I look back, it was really only one or two books that had a big impact. Maybe that's hard to predict ahead of time, but I find myself good in that genre haha. Thank you for the comment!
Lovely post! I’m reminded of Bob Marley & The Wailer’s Three Little Birds 🌞
Ahh I just played it while writing these messages and it just puts me in such a good mood. Thank you Rachael!
I could relate to this in a big way. Around ten years ago I read a book called "The Miracle Morning," which was also about waking up at 5am. I did it for a month and realized it wasn't for me. You hit the nail on the head that there isn't some hard-and-fast trick that works for everyone, despite what these books would have you believe.
Man, there are so many books dedicated to waking up early! I'm sure it's nice if it ends up being a good fit. I'm so happy to hear someone else went through the same thing I did. It's true, the books don't seem to suggest it's a nice thing to try, instead they really emphasize that it's life changing! Thank you for the comment Justin!
We all have different chronotypes and morning people often get all the fame:
https://romanshapoval.substack.com/p/you-are-when-you-eat
I'll admit, I am a morning person and a "bear" chronotype.
This is so interesting Roman! I always thought chronotype mostly referred to sleep schedule, but your piece has me thinking about how food and other things play a role. I find even throughout the month, my sleep schedule for example varies. I think I may be a bear too, 2p-4p is my least productive time of day, which maybe I should adjust for that.