What I Learned from Adopting an Early Morning Routine

They say the most successful people wake up early to get things done, because this is when we tend to be the most clear-minded and energized. As the day goes on, things can take an unpredictable turn, either causing us to be busy or just mentally drained. By taking time in the morning to be productive (or just quiet time for yourself), there’s little to nothing standing in your way. This is basically the premise behind my routine lately.

Yesterday was the last day of my Early Morning Challenge, inspired by the book The 5AM Club. Throughout this 66-day period, I spent an hour every morning exercising, reflecting, and reading. While it usually feels like a relief to finish a challenge, I feel differently after this one, because I don’t necessarily feel the need to stop.

Now don’t get me wrong, I still hate that first 15 minutes after my alarm goes off, when I’m fighting the urge to stay in bed. But the more I do it, the easier it is to accept that it’s happening. Plus, as this routine has become a regular part of my schedule, I’ve learned it’s always worth the initial struggle for how it makes me feel the rest of the day.

I will say, though, that in order to make an early morning routine happen every day, it requires self-discipline and decent time management. If you’re serious about waking up earlier, you’ll probably need to go to bed earlier. Otherwise you’ll be too tired to stay consistent.

While it might not sound that great, sacrificing even just a half hour of your night to get more sleep isn’t actually so bad — or at least that’s how I’ve felt. The end of my days aren’t usually that productive anyways. As a means to relax, we tend to watch a few shows at night. Watching one fewer episode isn’t a dramatic change.

Now that I’ve officially done the full 5AM Club “Habit Installation Protocol,” which I talk about in that post, I’m excited to move forward with my own version of the early morning routine. This will probably look something like this:

• Wake up at 6AM on weekdays and read for 20-30 minutes, while drinking coffee because of course.
• Do a 20-minute workout (sometimes longer), followed by stretching. Listen to an audiobook while working out.
• Do whatever I want on weekend mornings, but shoot for an outdoor fitness activity at least one weekend day. Morning walks with coffee are my favorite.

This is just a looser version of what I was doing in my Early Morning Challenge. I’ll still be reaping the rewards of the pre-workday me-time, though.

Before I move on with my life, I wanted to share some lessons I learned by doing this 66-day challenge. I didn’t plan to make this so long, but apparently I learned a lot! Check out all 10 below.

1. Committing to a morning workout schedule is much easier.

I’m already planning to wake up anyways, so I might as well get some exercise. Plus, having it as part of my schedule before anything can get in the way or ruin my motivation makes all the difference. To use my hour well, though, I had to plan and write out my workout circuit the night before (or plan to run), so minimal thinking was needed come morning. Speaking of working out…

2. 20-minute workouts are amazing.

I usually don’t spend more than 30 minutes working out anyways, but having the set time of 20 minutes makes me dread it so much less. It’s such a short period of time, but there’s enough time to get in a legit workout. Since not all workouts are conveniently exactly 20 minutes, I would basically just do any circuit, repeating it until the 20 minutes was up. Some workouts I could finish, others I stopped early. Sometimes I would alter rep counts (and add weight) to make sure I could get through all the exercises at least once before repeating.

3. Figuring out a plan the night before helps to avoid wasted time.

Before bed each night, I go to my Pinterest workouts board, find a workout I want based on the body area I want to challenge, then write it on a small white board to follow the next morning. I also set out my workout clothes based on the type of workout (e.g., high-impact sports bra and running shorts for cardio circuit, pajama pants and sports bra for upper body workout, etc. — I’m very fashionable when I work out at home).

4. I go through a lot of audiobooks when I listen to them while I work out.

When I was sad I didn’t have a commute anymore to listen to audiobooks, a friend recommended using my workout time to play them. This didn’t sound exciting to me at first, because usually I go for more upbeat listening as I exercise (lookin’ at you, 80s Workout Playlist). But considering how many books I’m able to go through by mostly just listening to them while I workout? It’s crazy. I went through 5 audiobooks over the 66-day challenge period. I love how much material I can get through. It allows me to simultaneously reflect and be entertained while I’m working out. So count workouts as a new way to make yourself read more!

5. I don’t like journaling unless I have big feelings.

I love writing; it’s like a form of thinking to me — it helps me organize my thoughts. But I don’t like forcing it if I don’t have anything to say. That’s why the “reflect” segment of my 5AM Club routine started with writing and quickly turned into more of a meditation or yoga segment. Journaling during or at the end of my day seems a lot more useful to me.

6. Starting my work day isn’t something I dread if I have me-time beforehand.

I haven’t always had the luxury of free time before my work day, but now that I don’t start work until 8:30AM (and I don’t have a commute anymore), I’m able to make time before work to do anything I want — chipping away at DIY projects, reading, listening to podcasts, meal prepping, etc. This is only possible if I wake up early enough, though. While I realize this isn’t realistic for those with hectic schedules, if you can make time in your morning to be in the peace and quiet by yourself, it can be reinvigorating and put you on a good mental path for the day.

7. I don’t like routine obligations on weekend mornings.

The only annoying part of the 5AM Club routine (well, besides trying to journal when my heart wasn’t into it) was weekend mornings. I always have a million things I want to do on Saturdays and Sundays. Plus, with the pandemic still going on, this is when I try to go to stores because there are fewer people around. Now that I’m done with my Early Morning Challenge, I plan to take my weekend mornings back. Maybe I’ll do a workout, maybe not. I usually have enough free time during the weekend that I don’t feel the need to schedule me-time.

8. I’ve gotten lazy AF in the mornings and I need to work on it.

Nothing like an earlier wakeup time to show you how bad you are at listening to your alarm clock. Or maybe that’s just me… I’ve never been one to hit snooze, but wow have I changed. Maybe I need to work on going to bed even earlier than I do. Whatever the reason, I am working on getting better at saying goodbye to coziness so I can start my day out right.

9. Accountability partners are worth their weight in gold.

…especially a roommate. My roommate, also known as my husband, is a huge reason why starting my Early Morning Challenge wasn’t that difficult at first, because he decided to wake up with me to do his own workout. When I was trying to muster up the will to get up, the fact he was moving around helped prevent me from dozing off again. So while I don’t necessarily need an “accountabili-buddy” to help me workout, I really like having one for simply waking up early.

10. Having a dedicated time set aside for myself each morning is refreshing.

In the past I would have favored extra sleep over morning nothingness, but there’s magic in the nothingness. In addition to working out, being able to choose what to do with my quiet morning time just puts me in a good mood. I feel like I’ve had time to just be for a little bit, and I feel more mentally prepared to tackle whatever the day has in store. If I have a busy evening, I don’t feel like I’ve had my free time stolen, because I made an effort to create that time in the morning. Staying up late to watch TV just doesn’t create the same feeling as waking up early, choosing to be unplugged, and taking time for yourself.

If I could go back to change anything, it would probably be to log how I spent the 3 segments of my morning routine, just to keep me focused and see my progress. But overall, I enjoyed the Early Morning Challenge and look forward to continuing with my own version! It helps me get so much more out of the day.

Do you wake up early for extra personal time?

When do you prefer to workout: earlier or later?