Early to Rise - Conclusion

Of all the challenges i've completed thus far, this one may prove to be the most rewarding.  I plan to continue to wake up before the sun 7 days a week.  I know i struggled some on the weekends but i will remedy that by going to bed earlier or throwing in a short nap or two.

Some of the best tips i have to offer if you want to become an early riser would be:

Have a good reason to wake up early.  I found it much easier to wake up early when i had something to look forward to.  Even forcing myself to take a picture got my ass out of bed on most mornings.

Don't start off too dramatically.  If you're used to waking up at noon and decide to set your alarm for 6am it's not going to last very long.  Start off by waking a couple minutes earlier than usual and gradually set the alarm earlier until you reach your desired time.

Be healthy.  When i'm eating properly and exercising, sleep and early-rising isn't an issue.  It's when i'm eating bullshit and slacking off that my body needs the extra recovery time.

Go to sleep.  Going to bed earlier is a great way to help yourself wake up earlier. (no shit!)  I head to the bedroom about an hour before i plan to fall asleep and read.  It also helps me fall asleep when i say a prayer.  I've been praying before i fall asleep since i was little.  At this point, it might just be a trigger to my brain that it's time to go to sleep.

Take a supplement.  I take ZMA on occasion and not only does it help me fall asleep but it makes the sleep i get seem more beneficial.  For example, 6 hours of sleep might feel like 8 when i've taken the ZMA.  

Waking up early and knocking out your most important tasks will make you feel like a champ.  Even if you fuck around for the rest of the day, you accomplished the shit you set out to accomplish.  It's all downhill from there.  Of course, by setting the tone early, you'll most likely continue to kick ass for the rest of the day.

Do you have anything to add?  Feel free to throw your tips, trials, and tribulations in the comments section.

Early to Rise - Day 21

Today is the final day of the challenge.  I wasn't going to miss the upload today:

If i'm able to continue waking up early and being productive it will be very beneficial.  I hope i can keep it up!  Stay tuned for the conclusion in a couple days.

Early to Rise - Day 20

Up and at 'em early again this morning.  Although i didn't do much, i was able to eat breakfast and take my vitamins.  Here's the upload:

Early to Rise - Day 19

Monday morning.  Back to the cube.  I woke up before the sun and snapped this photo.  It was raining so i couldn't put the phone down as i normally would.  It also made it darker than usual.  

I was able to make myself a healthy breakfast before venturing off to work.  If breakfast is the only thing i implement because of this challenge, i will consider it a success.

I saw an inspiring from video from Kai Greene that i'd like to share.  One of the comments that stuck out is when he said, "you don't have to be held hostage to the failures of yesterday."  One more quote i liked was, "it's not what the other man is going to do.  It's what you're going to do...TODAY!  A champion acts in the now."  Please enjoy:

Early to Rise - Day 18

This morning i was unable to wake up  before the sun and don't have a photo.  I can't even remember hearing the alarm go off.  I subconsciously smacked snooze multiple times.  By the time i realized what was going on, it was 7:07.  I said fuck it, shut the alarm off, and went back to sleep.  Apparently my body needed the rest.

Interestingly, though, i woke up fully rested at 8:30 so it wasn't a complete waste.  If 8:30 is considered "sleeping in" then i'm on the right path.

Early to Rise - Day 17

Despite staying up later than usual last night, i was still able to drag myself out of bed this morning just before sunrise.  Here's the pic to prove it:

I was delighted to find that the Premier League kicked off today and the first game started at 7:30 am est.  Normally, the chances of me being up in time to watch the match would be slim-to-none.  

I decided to make a cup of coffee with some of my new toys:

Pictured is a Chemex coffeemaker, Kone filter, and coffee from Portland, Oregon's Heart Roasters.  These items were sent to me via Sean Bonner through a service called Quarterly.  Basically, you choose a contributor and once every 3 months you receive a box of stuff.  I subscribe to mailings from Tim Ferriss as well.

Although these purchases seem to go against the whole decluttering thing, i've found that the boxes are very well thought-out and the items are useful.  Sometimes you don't know what you need until you have it.

I'm looking forward to a productive remainder of the day.  Being awake and accomplishing things before other people get out of bed is a good feeling.  Although i shouldn't compare myself to others.

Early to Rise - Day 16

I struggled to get out of bed this morning but i was still able to get outside an snap this photo at 6:50 am.  

I find that it's much easier to wake up early when there's something to be excited about.  Today i didn't have anything planned so it was easy for me to be lazy.  

Early to Rise - Day 15

I woke up at 6:45, snapped a picture, and fell back asleep for another half hour!  

I'm not tired at night so i stay up later but then i can't get out of bed in the morning!  I haven't been taking my ZMA, though, so that might have something to do with it.

I have difficulty with delayed gratification.  I will often select the activity that feels the best in the moment, as opposed to choosing the activity that will be most beneficial.  Any tips on how to overcome?

Early to Rise - Day 14

Two weeks in and waking up early is starting to become routine.  Here's the upload:

Unfortunately, i didn't get a lot of sleep last night so i woke up and basically did nothing.  I  showered, watched an hour of SportsCenter, and got ready for work.  Not really the point of waking before the sun.

Early to Rise - Day 13

This morning i woke up and ran a mile all before 7:15 am!  Here's the photo upload:

It would be great if i could routinely get up and exercise.  I'd love to have it completed before the day even begins; that way it's not hanging over my head all day.  Instead, i can look back and be happy with what i've already accomplished.  Let's see if i can do it again tomorrow. 

Early to Rise - Day 12

Back to the cube and back on track.  I woke up this morning well before sunrise and was able to be somewhat productive this morning.  Here's the upload:

Early to Rise - Day 11

After a late night out, i rolled over this morning and stared at the clock saying 7:07.  I missed the sunrise!  I ended up going back to sleep and didn't wake up until past noon.

Apparently my body needed some extra rest.  Although the day went by much quicker than usual, i was still able to be somewhat productive.  

Early to Rise - Day 10

The weekends are my best opportunity to screw up.  I hit the snooze twice this morning but was still able to get up in time to snap a photo before sunrise.  

I've found that going outside to take a picture is enough incentive to get out of bed.  Of course, it's summertime and it's nice and warm outside.  Whether or not this motivation will work in the middle of winter will remain to be seen.

It's exciting to be up early and have so much time to do things.  I've been up for over three hours now and the significant other is still under the covers in dreamland!  

Early to Rise - Day 9

This morning my parents left as i went to work.  It was nice to have some extra time with them in the morning as opposed to waking up late and having to rush around getting ready.  Here's the photo:

So far i've only noticed benefits to waking up early.  There have been no negative consequences.  I thought that i'd miss the sleep but that simply isn't the case. 

Early to Rise - Day 8

Today is the last day of my parents' visit so i decided that i would take the day off.  I still woke up early enough to snap this pic, pre-sunrise.  I laid back in bed for awhile and messed around on my phone before reading for about an hour.  It's great to wake early and accomplish things that are important to me. (the reading part)  Here's the upload:

Early to Rise - Day 7

One week in a row of waking up before the sun!  Here's the upload:

It's not nearly as difficult to hop out of bed anymore.  Sometimes I still don't want to get up but after 15 minutes or so i'm glad i did.  1 week down, 2 more to go.

Early to Rise - Day 6

I woke up early but since my parents were asleep in the living room i took a shower and laid about in the bedroom.  I didn't fall back asleep though!  Here's the photo:

Early to Rise - Day 5

It's Monday but i took the day off of work since my parents are in town.  That didn't stop me from waking before sunrise.  Here's the pic:

Besides the nap on Saturday, i haven't noticed any less energy than normal.  I expected that i might miss the extra sleep but i don't.  If i need more sleep, i can go to bed earlier.  

Early to Rise - Day 3 & 4

The weekend brought with it added difficulties but i was still able to wake up before sunrise on both occasions.  Here are the photo uploads:

Full disclosure, on Saturday i took about a three hour nap between 10 and 1.  On Sunday, i got up and took the picture as i took the dog out and came back inside and laid in bed for another hour.  I never fell back asleep, though.  I was playing around on my phone and what not.

Anyways, my parents are visiting for a couple days with explains the lack of posts.  I'm sticking to the challenge though!  I'm enjoying it so far.  It makes the days seem so much fuller.

Early to Rise - Day 2

Day two of the challenge and i'm up writing this post before 7am!  I woke at 6:31 and have already walked outside to snap a photo, drank a protein shake, meditated, and now i'm writing today's blog.

I anticipated that it would be more difficult to wake up this morning compared to yesterday but that wasn't the case.  It was relatively easy.  However, this weekend may be a test

The plan for the rest of the morning will be to shower and cook myself some breakfast before heading off to work.  Happy Friday!