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.
Lorna Bingham says
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
wanda says
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!
Janet West says
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!
Sara Reynoso says
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!
Carol says
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!
Cheryl. H says
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.
Betty Barkley says
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
Brian S says
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?
John P. Weiss says
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.
Patrick M says
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!
Lori says
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!
Stella says
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.