Not everyone wants to be an early riser, but I always did.
Most of the people I wanted to emulate with my life were waking early in the morning, making the most of their day and life. It was something I desired to be true of me, but was never able to accomplish—until my mid-thirties.
Roughly a decade ago, I decided to change my habits. I don’t wake up at 4:00am like some stories I hear, but most mornings nowadays, I wake up at 6:00am cheerfully and excited to get started with the day.
And everything changed in just one month’s time.
If you’ve ever wanted to become an early riser, here are the exact steps I took:
1. Set a 30-Day Experiment.
I learned the value of 30-Day experiments from Steve Pavlina.
When it comes to changing habits, in his words, “We often psyche ourselves out of getting started by mentally thinking about the change as something permanent — before we’ve even begun…
But what if you thought about making the change only temporarily — say for 30 days — and then you’re free to go back to your old habits? That doesn’t seem so hard anymore.“
30 days is a long enough period to see if you like the changes in your life. And, after 30 days, if you like the change, it is easier to mark the behavior as already a habit.
You can try the 30-day experiment for any life change you are interested in. For me, it became the month-long experiment that turned me into an early riser for good.
I chose a 30-day period and committed to waking up every morning at 5am. “It’s just for 30 days. Surely I can accomplish that.”
And so can you.
2. Feet on Ground, Look Out the Window.
Every morning when my alarm went off, I gave myself only two instructions:
- Feet on the ground. (Stand up).
- Eyes out the window. (Look outside).
These were the only two disciplined steps that I required of myself each morning. Not burdensome, not difficult. In my head, I’d just repeat that phrase, “Feet on ground, eyes out the window.”
Those steps became incredibly effective—especially on the days that I struggled to get up. They weren’t difficult. But once you complete those two steps, you’ve won 80% of the struggle. At that point, it requires a conscience decision to go lay back down and fall sleep.
Plus, depending on when you choose to wake, if there’s sunshine outside, the sunlight boosts your serotonin and biologically helps you stay awake.
But even if there is no sunlight: “Feet on ground, eyes out the window.”
After completing those two simple steps, buoyed by my desire to be successful in my experiment, I was up, awake, and out of bed.
3. Go to Bed When You are Tired.
Waking up earlier will mean that you get less sleep if you keep the same bedtime.
The most important change to become an early riser is to learn going to bed earlier.
But what time should that be? Let your body tell you.
Change your thinking from, “I go to bed at x pm” to “I go to bed when I feel tired.” And let your body tell you when that is.
It’ll take a little getting used to, especially if you are used to wasting hours at the end of the day watching television or scrolling social media. But remind yourself that you are only trying this out for 30 days.
I can almost guarantee that after a few weeks of learning to listen to your body and going to bed when it asks you to, you’ll love the new approach to bedtime—rather than letting the clock tell you how late you should stay up.
4. Find a Motivation for the Morning.
Waking up early is easier when you have a purpose to it.
In most cases, your home will be quiet when you begin waking up early. So use that time intentionally.
During my 30-day experiment, I was working to minimize the sentimental items that had collected in our basement. It was a project I wanted to complete, but knew would take time. I also had two young children and didn’t want to sacrifice time away from them in the evening after work.
So decluttering the basement became part of my morning routine. I’d wake up at 5, declutter a box or shelf in the basement for an hour, and then make breakfast, get ready for work, and be fully ready by the time my kids were up getting ready for school. I would also use occasional mornings to write when appropriate (growing this blog actually), but I always knew what I wanted to do when I woke up.
Maybe you would enjoy extra time reading, praying, painting, exercising, journaling, baking, meditating, or doing yoga. The choice is yours. Don’t pick an activity that you dread, but pick something that will help you stick to your experiment and wake-up time.
5. Awake is Awake.
There’s a difference between awake and cheerful. And some mornings, that was helpful to remember.
There were certainly some days when I felt alive and excited to be up. But there were other mornings where I was simply dragging myself out of bed. (I was the only one awake in my home so my sloggy mood didn’t affect anybody else).
I’d often have to remind myself that my goal for the 30-Day experiment wasn’t necessarily to be a Fully-Joyful Joshua at 5am. My goal was to be awake.
Over time, as I appreciated more and more those early hours in the day, joyfulness came more naturally.
6. After 30 Days, Adjust.
After 30 days, make a decision on how you want to continue. You can keep your designated wake-up time or you can adjust to a new one.
If you have enjoyed the mornings, believe you are living more intentionally, and don’t feel like you are missing much late at night, almost certainly you will have begun reshaping your sleeping habits.
You can keep your designated wake-up time (5am, for example) or adjust to a new one.
After my 30-day experiment, I had completed most of the work in my basement, but still enjoyed the writing that I was doing in the early mornings. So I kept my 5am wake-up for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. On Tuesday and Thursday, I’d wake up at 6am—which is when I wake up most days still.
John Dryden is quoted as saying, “We first make our habits, then our habits make us.” Becoming an early riser was a habit I always wanted to make for myself. And through the steps above, I accomplished it. You can too.
About Joshua Becker
I live alone for so many y ears and thought adopting a dog or pet. This article brought to my mind that I really dislike being interrupted during my sleep. I have co-workers and acquaintances who are waking up at 4am each day to care for them. I can’t hardly stay up and walk them whenever it is possible unless having my own yard. what do you think? how do you give to your pets this morning walk even in winter
Your pet brings enough enjoyment into your life that you will want to do it and the pet will you outside to appreciate nature – good and bad weather. Or you find a way to have a little backyard area to quickly let them out on bad days. Or you sign up for doggie daycare.
I am getting back on track with sleep schedule (after caring for an almost recovered dog). Can’t wait for clock change. Both dogs’ hunger patterns will then be back to “normal” and it will no longer be pitch dark upon waking. In the meantime will try your helpful tips. Thanks for perfect timing.
Thanks Joshua for sharing.
Yes, I also like waking up early and use that quiet time for my meditation, yoga but also for my work when no one disturbs my concentration.
30 days experiment… I am so happy I did the 30 days Alcohol experiment following book by Annie Grace! It was 4 years ago and I am still a happy person that does not need any alcohol in my life!
My best wishes to all!
Yesss!! Cannot say enough good things about Annie Grace and her FREE 30 day Alcohol Experiment on FB. I must confess I am not a person who wants to be a morning person, but I am a person who wants to want to be a morning person.
Thanks for the great tips, Joshua! They sound very practical and doable–just the thing!
Inspiring article on becoming an early riser. I especially appreciated how you said “this is what worked for me” rather than “if you want to become an early riser, this is what you should do.” I am inspired to try what worked for you.
So inspiring, this was just what I need, thank you Joshua. I like the idea of doing it for 30 days and then really hoping it sticks. I’ve been looking for time in my day to fit in journaling and using my circulation machine for 30 minutes and now I am going to put my SAD lamp next to me while I do this, thanks to another reader’s suggestion. I want to do my exercises earlier but I could not fall out of bed and do them straight away, I hope like this I will actually get them done earlier.
A few of us are hardwired to wake up very early; the small studies on us call us “super larks”. It’s genetic and runs in families. Being awake before 5 am is normal for me. If you wake well before dawn and are prone to Seasonal Affective Disorder, I strongly recommend getting a therapy lamp to use for a fixed time every morning. You do not need a prescription to get one, and the bulbs last a very long time. But even for folks who don’t have SAD, a good full spectrum light used at the same time daily can really help stabilize your circadian rhythm. Look for 5,000-6,500 K light bulbs meant for indoor plants.
And on the flip side, some people are night owls. And some people just need more sleep than others. I don’t think I am a night owl but I find that I am not much use to anyone until the sun comes up. I can get through my normal morning routine but don’t expect much engagement from me :-). Getting up super-early usually just means that my morning routine takes longer because I am still tired.
While I have found benefit from have a regular routine, I think the push to get up earlier can be counter-productive. There is no moral virtue in and of itself in getting up before sunrise or being sleep deprived.
Dear Joshua, Saturday, January 22, 2022
Thanks for your many creative ideas (INCLUDING THIS ONE). It looks like you have made success maximally possible while VALUABLY allowing one (me) to keep my sense of freedom and freedom-to-decide! While I value watching TV news–I like knowing the issues and being an informed and active citizen! –I’ve started staying up later, even, for “unexplained reasons!” Recently, my days and nights have become mixed up.
I believe God wants me to write 3 or 4 specific books in the next year. Much of which I have written in various places on computers and papers and/or I have “between my ears!” I also just turned 85. Probably not yet free of a “Non-winner Script,” “most of me” wants to START-SO-I-CAN-FINISH LEAVING A LEGACY OF SORTS AND INFORMING AND BLESSING PEOPLE with hard won or valuable information IN BOOK FORM. Writing this note to you helped me commit to the thirty-day experiment and to me getting up by 6:00 AM, starting Sunday!
This does not look easy to me. So, I ask for your prayer support, JOSHUA,–and that your readers will lift me up in their prayers! Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Rev. J. Roland Cole
(colejr78@gmail.com)
I get up at 5.40 3 mornings a week to allow myself to exercise before work. Just 20-30 mins, but I know I won’t do it when I get home. The rest of my week I rise at 6. Saturday is my exception day, but I still wake early and read.
Thank you for sharing your journey with this process. I also want to get back to getting up early I just need to figure out logistics. I have my 5 yr old granddaughter sleeping in the same room as me and she doesn’t like being alone and will wake up when I do. Any suggestions would be welcome.
Hi Gingah,
Not sure if you would like a suggestion from a reader,
Anyway, I found it really touching that you are staying with your granddaughter. My child 14, will pop out of bed just to say good morning to me and tell me
She loves me, when i leave early for work. It’s really sweet but I just wish she’d stay asleep. I’m also having to stay up really late, just to have some alone time after her and my husband go to bed.
Anyway, I was thinking that maybe you could say you needed to be up to do adult stuff for 10 minutes and that you won’t be far away and that you will check on her twice. If this works, maybe see if you can increase the time. Next week tell her 15 mins
And still check just twice.
Best of luck whatever you decide.
Cheers Jules
Hi, Gingah,
I have an almost five year old daughter who only transitioned into her own room a month ago–that was very big for her! She had been sleeping and napping in the master bedroom since birth (which made it a little trickier when her brother was born a year ago, but we knew we would get more sleep if she was in the room with us). Anyway, perhaps you could start out the morning with some (hopefully alone) reading time just outside where your granddaughter is sleeping so that she knows you’re nearby and will still feel close to you? I’m guessing that if she needs the sleep, even if she gets up with you the first few mornings, she will gradually adjust and be comfortable, knowing that you’re right nearby with a book and possibly a warm cup of something uplifting and invigorating.
This is a good one Joshua and right on target for tomorrow.
“Awake is awake” is my mantra of the week.
Take care.
Cats. They like early wake-ups but forget about quiet time until they are fed.
Haha. Yes, I have 2 dogs and call them my 4 legged alarm clocks. And they didn’t understand the rolling back the clocks thing in the Fall.
I used to do this a long time ago. Somehow through the years and life’s circumstances and tribulations, I fell out of this. I remember that I was certainly a lot more energetic, and had a brighter outlook on life. It was nice to get up and look out at the garden and woods and sit and journal. It allowed me to be more level headed with respect to my relationship at the time. I vented at the page instead of at my partner.
Something I should go back to so that sanity is easier to maintain.
Thanks for the reminder
Good article with practical tips for getting up early. I too love the quietness of the morning, but struggle to get up in dark cold mornings! A 30 day experiment is doable! thanks
This is a great idea and very practical. I’ve appreciated waking up early and getting out into the morning energy when I do. But waking up early was always something I had to do or every now and then I would just wake up early and take advantage of the early, quiet hours. I’d secretly wish I could do it every morning with vigor and excitement. Trying it out for 30 days is a realistic goal to shoot for and then go from there. And like you say it won’t be easy all the time and I won’t feel cheery all the time. But I can attest to once I get started early, I feel so much better in the evening. Like I lived a full day. Thank you for this reading and the motivation!
Such a great article. I actually starting with a new morning routine this week and this article is going to help me so much! Thank you!
Love this. I really like how sincere your text and your advice are. It’s not only just about “discipline” but learning that sometimes it will be hard, acknowledging that some mornings you won’t feel cheerful, but you will be awake. The 30 days “trial” (lol) is also a great advice. Sometimes, as you wrote, we think we need to commit for a lifetime, just like as we choose what to study for college. And life is not like that.
Thank you for your text!
I used to sleep in late when I retired. I’d wake at 7 am, take a med, and go back to sleep for an hour or two, ut I felt the day was getting away from too fast. I decided to actually get up when I wake up at 7. I set up a routine: weigh myself, do a 10-min energy meditation, read for 30 mins. When the weather warms up, I plan on swapping my reading with powerwalking. Love having quiet “me” time and so enjoy doing things I often put off because I run out of time!
I was so glad to see early riser,I have always wanted to be one but the discipline at times was my weakness, when I was working I had too, 5am everyday, but because I had too, weekends was more like 8 am, now that I have retired, it is harder, no incentive to get up early, retired, kids grown out of house, by myself for last 9 years, live in Michigan where there is no sun this time of year, but occasionally I did wake early, and always said why can’t I do this more often, it just made me feel so much better, I will give this a try, like you said its a test, just doing it, thank you, I always looked forward to your blogs, keeps me motivated, to keep going.
Hi Joshua,
Thanks for the good advice. You make it very easy to get up early.
I have been getting up at 6 am on an irregular basis, but will attempt to do that every morning. Your article has motivated me to do this.
I have some paperwork that I need to go through so will start working on that. Then I have a book that I would like to finish. My biggest issue is paper, although I have started receiving a lot of financial stuff online, this really helps to cut down on paper in my life.
Betty
I, too, was an early riser for years and enjoyed it. Got out of the habit during covid onset. Started staying up late with the wife and twins. I am interested in getting my discipline back.
So I noticed that you mentioned your weekday schedule but not your weekend. What do you do with your weekends?
There is a kind of magic found in the early morning stillness. I sip my coffee, quietly read, write, and create in my studio. This time to myself, before my wife rises and the dogs demand a walk, seems to center my soul in a place of serenity and optimism for the day ahead.
Great article Joshua! Thank you for continuing to share what has worked in your life. I have learned, and continue to learn, so much from yours and your guest bloggers articles.
I really enjoy rising early, but my spouse is not an early riser. We also have 3 kids (5yr old, 3yr old & 3 month old), and we live in a smaller home. If I wake early, the kids typically hear me and wake up, then they wake up my wife. It’s a vicious cycle…
Do you have any tips or experiences to share on finding a balance between my desire to be an early riser and making sure my household gets enough sleep?
Thanks so much for any guidance, and I look forward to being an avid reader of Becoming Minimalist for many years to come!
Wow!
While difficult times There is beauty in having little ones.
See these moments for the beautiful thing it is.
While I could suggest to you a couple of things. Like get the little ones up early with you. And lock her door while your wife sleeps in.
When she arises the kiddos could be dressed and fed and starting their morning play time.
When you get home from work ( assuming you work out side the home) she could have the same for you. The kiddos fed in their jammies and having their last play time of the day with you.
If they go to bed early this will be you and your wife’s free time for intimacy or conversation.
Just my thoughts.
Blessings with your little beauties!
Thanks Josh. Fantastic article. I have been thinking about doing this and you have just motivated me to just do the 30 day experiment getting up at 5. I did go through a period of getting up early a while ago and exercising before work and I really liked it. My energy at work was great. I’d crash much earlier in the evening which is good because I’d have a bad habit of staying up and watching TV or looking at Facebook. I’m looking forward to some healthier habits and better sense of well-being. Thanks so much.