Get up early!

27/31 daily posts as part of WeblogPoMo2024. Expect (and forgive) more words and less editing.

I don't do much in the way of 'life advice', but here's one: get up early!

As in, 05:00 early.

Now, if you'd told 27-year-old Johnny to get up at 05:00 he'd have kicked you in the shins. And rightly so! But now he's 47 and a grown-up adult with a bunch of stuff to do.

Getting up early is transformative. Lucy got me in to it -- it's been a life-hack of hers for years. Because the thing is, by 09:00, you've got most of it done. And the rest of the world is just getting started and you're feeling really good about yourself.

Then by 12:00 you've got all of it and more done, and you've still got a whole day ahead of you.

How to do it

It starts the night before.

I was a nightowl for many years and I always wondered how people could get up early. Turns out the trick is simple: you go to bed at 20:00. Consistently. You need to adjust your body clock.

Then, in the morning, take it easy. It's really early, remember?

Brew a pot of tea and just read your stories for a good half an hour. Or put that tea in a Yeti mug and go for a walk round the block. Morning walks are amazing.

Don't try to start work at 05:00. Don't do yoga. Nobody's watching.

That's it. Aim to start work around 06:00.¹ And these morning hours are precious: don't waste them. If you can knock out 3 hours of quality work before most other people have started, you are going to win.

Just don't try to get your kids to do it. Let them sleep.