The 5 am Club. Could you get up earlier to get things done?

Several authors have written about the benefits of getting up at some ungodly hour (usually 5 am!) The theory is if you get up early enough you will be able to do all those things you’d like to do before your normal day begins. 

You would have time to write in your journal, eat a healthy breakfast, go for a run or a swim, meditate maybe, do some yoga or make a start on that novel you’ve been telling everyone you’d like to write. 

Why do people join the 5 am club?

In the days where the telephone would only ring between 9 am and 5 pm this may well have been a very sensible suggestion. Having a clear space in which to just simply get on with things without interruptions from family members and the telephone is definitely a sensible idea. For some people it would be a fabulous idea. But I don’t think it will be the perfect answer for everyone as we are all different.

Biorhythms and your own Body Clock

Take into consideration your own personal biorhythms. Some of us are up with the larks and naturally very much a morning person, whereas others of us are definitely nocturnal by nature and the very thought of expecting a fully-fledged night-owl to get up at the crack of dawn is about as sensible as expecting your pet hamster to go to sleep during the night time. 

My key concentration time starts about 8 am after I’ve done the college drop off and I’ve stumbled blurry eyed back to my desk with a pot of fresh coffee. This is when I can focus the most and I get most done. But I dare say if I tried getting up at 5 am, I’d likely be slumped in a corner by 2 pm. Which is no good at all!  

Put yourself in the diary!

Scheduling in some time to do the things you love is a good idea. When you do this is up to you. If you fancy getting up at 5 am then great give it a go. If you don’t this is absolutely fine too. Write a list of the things that you’d like to do, but never quite seem to find time for. Then look at your diary and schedule those things in first. 

Word of Warning! Not all hobbies are suitable for the 5 am club

The only thing I would say is if you do decide to get up when other people are trying to sleep, be mindful of the type of activities you undertake. Tuba practice? No. Shredding old documents? No. Tap dancing? No. Practicing for your role in the local amateur operetta. Definitely not!

 Quiet activities certainly, but keep anything that’s likely to get you an Anti-Social Behaviour ticket for when everyone else is awake. 

Over to you

Could you get up at 5 am to get things done? DO you get up early to get things done? 

If you had an extra hour a day what would you do with it? Please leave me a comment in the comments box below