34 replies
I am committing to starting a 30 day trial to wake up at 5 a.m for 30 days, at the end of the 30 days I will decide whether I want to make it permanent or not, I will probably be more motivated to doing it if I update online, I Will go to bed when I'm tired (I learned that from Steve pavlina, author of personal development for smart people). I can't wait to see how it goes.
#5am #day #trial
  • Profile picture of the author MyNiches
    Good luck! My sleep schedule is a complete mess, basically I sleep when I can't hold my eyes open anymore and I wake up whenever I'm not tired anymore. Which, in theory, sounds pretty good but in practice I'm falling asleep at 5pm and waking up at midnight LOL.
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  • Profile picture of the author Elamros
    Good luck to you man! That requires a lot of discipline. Been doing some of that lately. My sleep schedule is actually difficult to control, but what I do now is work out first thing in the morning. Not everyday though, at least 4 times a week. I've been doing it for 2 weeks now and I can see my tummy developing into abs and that keeps me motivated. I wake up at around 6am, 5am is too early for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author ysckyler
    Well, i have been doing that for months!!! Great way tro start your day, will be tough intially, dont be discourage if you miss a few days in your 30 day trial. It happen, and you will feel sleepy towards mid noon, that to be expected, your body need time to adjust. Once you fully adjust to it, then it will just be like normal, except you have extra hours in your day.

    I suggest you get some subliminal audio song to play througout the nights, for me, it helps to get into deeper sleep faster. I used steve g jones diamond series to help me get into that state plus motivational reason. Maybe you can give it ago, i found out if i have the audio cd playing, i wake up fresher and i sleep faster.
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  • Profile picture of the author Simon Ashari
    Hi man. Good work on starting this up.

    A few tips that helped me.

    1) Put yourself in a position where you cannot sleep during the middle of the day. If you are away from home, you won't be tempted to hop back in bed.

    2) go to bed early at night (obviously) with the light off. No laptop at your bed (which messed my efforts up quite a bit).

    3) pay attention to diet. This is always underrated for importance when dealing with sleep.

    Good luck and let us know how it goes.
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    • Profile picture of the author muzzy4u2
      Originally Posted by Simon Ashari View Post

      Hi man. Good work on starting this up.

      A few tips that helped me.

      1) Put yourself in a position where you cannot sleep during the middle of the day. If you are away from home, you won't be tempted to hop back in bed.

      2) go to bed early at night (obviously) with the light off. No laptop at your bed (which messed my efforts up quite a bit).

      3) pay attention to diet. This is always underrated for importance when dealing with sleep.

      Good luck and let us know how it goes.

      I agree with Simon its not difficult if you follow a strict regime and make sure you don't have a heavy meal at night as it will take more time to digest and will wake you up for longer time.
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  • Profile picture of the author sabinavarga
    Try working out in the first days. It helps with going to bed earlier than you're used to. Also, drink herbal teas in the evenings and avoid all forms of caffeine and sugary drinks in the second half of the day.

    Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author therenegadeleader
    Well, that's a healthy lifestyle just make sure you also sleep early.
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  • Profile picture of the author OmarNegron
    Best of luck on the trial!

    One of the best ways I have found to get to a key goal wake up time is to work your way from one time to the other. I use to wake up at 7 am then worked my way down to 6 am then 5 am and aiming to go to 4 am.

    The funny thing I noticed is that after I accomplished the 4 am goal, when there are times I fall asleep later and my body wakes up at 5:45/6 am My reaction is that it's too late. (I find this funny since I use to wake up at 7 am and thought it was early HA)

    Goes back to what Tony Robbins always says about raising your standards. Once you do then your previous high standards become low standards!

    Again best of luck I am sure you will make it permanent since it does increase productivity! Exercising in the morning gives you a huge boost of energy as well!
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  • Profile picture of the author masterbizcoach
    That's my wake up time, usually around 4:30am to 5:00am. Keep it up.
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  • Profile picture of the author Odahh
    if you are working for yourself get the clock out of your room and wake up when your body tells you to wake up ..

    chance are if you go to sleep before 10 pm.. you will wake up about 1-2 am with a burst of creative energy.. get up work for an hour or two ..then go back to sleep and wake up when you are done sleeping ..

    and there may be days you just don't go back to sleep or find you need a short nap after lunch ..

    now from what i hear it is also a good idea to have a pen and a paper by your bed as you sleep.. if you wake up with an idea in your head get it down on paper ..and you mat have an easier time getting back to sleep ..

    no i have cronic insomnia and can't even fall asleep until 4 am sometimes ..and my mind turns on at 10 pm.. and stays off during the day.. makes life difficult ..even when i sleep over night .. my mind just kind of stays blah during the day ..
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    • Profile picture of the author webcashuk
      Its strange because i think you will find two seperate things. Firstly and perhaps ironically i always find that i have more energy when i get up early and i try to use that energy to accomplish more things.So for example if i have tasks to work on in my internet business then i knock them out when everyone else is asleep and as a consequence noone complains about me always working.Then if i have more spare time later in the day i have already accomplished my tasks and so anything else i do is then a bonus.


      The longer you do it for the more it becomes a habit and then you just have so so much more time and can accomplish so much more.I am certain you will enjoy it and benefit from it and i look forward to your findings

      Peter
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  • Profile picture of the author jakearms3
    Thanks guys, I appreciate all of your comments and I read them all, I have a morning routine in place.
    1) Wake up
    2) Drink water
    3) 20- 30 minute workout
    4) Write morning pages and set goals
    5) Shower
    6) Conquer the day.

    It is only 4PM now and I am actually quite excited about getting up at 5AM.
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    • Profile picture of the author ScottGordon
      Originally Posted by jakearms3 View Post

      Thanks guys, I appreciate all of your comments and I read them all, I have a morning routine in place.
      1) Wake up
      2) Drink water
      3) 20- 30 minute workout
      4) Write morning pages and set goals
      5) Shower
      6) Conquer the day.

      It is only 4PM now and I am actually quite excited about getting up at 5AM.

      Nice to see someone else who writes Morning Pages (inspired by Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way.) This is probably the most important thing I do, spending 30-minutes each morning writing my morning pages. I do them on the computer so it ends up being about a page and a half of single-spaced text. It's where I process what worked and didn't work from the day before, figure out if I'm on track with my goals, brainstorm some projects, etc.

      I've done it for at least 15 years without missing a single day.

      Spending 180 hours a year with yourself, just thinking and problem-solving and strategizing your life, has to be a good thing. I think the world would be a better place if more people spent more time with themselves. But "down time" and solitude tend to be drowned out in today's world.

      As for sleep (assuming you don't have daily obligations like a job or school or something that gets in the way of your life) I just sleep when my body tells me to. That may mean taking a 3-hour nap in the evening and then getting back up and working from 11pm until 5 am (when it's nice and quiet and there are fewer disruptions). Of course, you can do this only if you are in control of your life and other family members aren't disrupted too much by it.

      Usually, people who wake up to an alarm clock every morning are sleep deprived (otherwise, if they had had enough sleep, they would already have waken up on their own.) Plus, alarm clocks can yank you out of a deep sleep cycle (usually 90 minutes) and make you feel terrible for the whole day.

      Lots of great tips in the posts above...

      Good luck with the experiment. Let us know how it goes.
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      • Profile picture of the author jakearms3
        Originally Posted by ScottGordon View Post

        Nice to see someone else who writes Morning Pages (inspired by Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way.) This is probably the most important thing I do, spending 30-minutes each morning writing my morning pages. I do them on the computer so it ends up being about a page and a half of single-spaced text. It's where I process what worked and didn't work from the day before, figure out if I'm on track with my goals, brainstorm some projects, etc.

        I've done it for at least 15 years without missing a single day.

        Spending 180 hours a year with yourself, just thinking and problem-solving and strategizing your life, has to be a good thing. I think the world would be a better place if more people spent more time with themselves. But "down time" and solitude tend to be drowned out in today's world.

        As for sleep (assuming you don't have daily obligations like a job or school or something that gets in the way of your life) I just sleep when my body tells me to. That may mean taking a 3-hour nap in the evening and then getting back up and working from 11pm until 5 am (when it's nice and quiet and there are fewer disruptions). Of course, you can do this only if you are in control of your life and other family members aren't disrupted too much by it.

        Usually, people who wake up to an alarm clock every morning are sleep deprived (otherwise, if they had had enough sleep, they would already have waken up on their own.) Plus, alarm clocks can yank you out of a deep sleep cycle (usually 90 minutes) and make you feel terrible for the whole day.

        Lots of great tips in the posts above...

        Good luck with the experiment. Let us know how it goes.
        Hello Scott Gordon,
        I appreciate your comment, I learned the morning pages from Robin Sharma, who is a very good life coach, I have read a lot from him and Steve Pavlina. You are right, morning pages really is important, I lack focus if I don't write in my journal.

        Jake
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  • Profile picture of the author Herberto
    Thanks for posting this thread! I also need to change my sleeping pattern - its awful at the moment! I go to bed at 4 - 5am and wake up around midday all the time. I would really like to wake up at 6am and I'll start next Monday. Interested to hear how you do.
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  • Profile picture of the author MyNiches
    The exercise first thing when you wake up is such a good way to start the day.

    Waking up, exercising, and writing is a killer combo.
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  • Profile picture of the author jakearms3
    In my opinion it's the extra time in the morning before work or school, because you allow yourself to wake up a few hours before the commute, it also generates a lot of time to plan your day, but all these can be done at different times as a night owl, I would say choose what's right for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joe Crosbie
    Hey great post man!

    Reading through this thread has got me wanting to do it also, I have been wanting to start a challenge like this of sorts for a while but I have never taken the action in doing so. Thanks to you guys though, tomorrow will be my first day of my new challenge!

    I have no trouble waking up early, I am always full of energy in bed after I have woken up but I seem to somehow always fall back asleep though! I mean once my alarm goes off I will be wanting to get back and I recall starting to get out of bed yet somehow I wake much later on not knowing why I didn't actually get up.

    Any ideas to overcome this problem guys?

    Joe Crosbie.
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    I chose entrepreneurship over further education despite being laughed at by my friends and family..

    I recently hit the "RESTART" button on my life, read my personal blog to find out how I did it :)
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    • Profile picture of the author jakearms3
      I have successfully woken up at 5 a.m. this morning, I went to bed at 10 p.m. so I slept 7 hours, when I woke up I didn't want to get up, but once I started working out, I started feeling very alert, I took some of your suggestione, i.e listen to audio and go to bed earlier. Thanks guys!!!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author Joe Crosbie
    Great to hear you did it!

    I woke up at 5 this morning and was feeling great but I managed to fall back asleep before I got up! So tomorrow morning I am going to make sure that I jump out of bed as soon as I wake up and start the day with some exercise! Tomorrow is a new day and I know that I can succeed at this challenge!

    Good luck for tomorrow Jake!
    Signature
    I chose entrepreneurship over further education despite being laughed at by my friends and family..

    I recently hit the "RESTART" button on my life, read my personal blog to find out how I did it :)
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  • Profile picture of the author dmarseller
    Good luck with this challenge. I send you all my strength so you can achieve your goal!

    Have a nice day!
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  • Profile picture of the author tismi
    Interesting thread, I have experimented a lot with my sleep schedule but from different perspective, my goal was to find out how many hours of sleep I need to be fully functional during the day without being tired and at the same time paying attention to when I get up. I was sleeping anywhere from 2-12 hours and what I found out is that I have the most energy when I sleep 4-5hours with anything above 7-8hours making a complete mess out of me, the more I slept, more tired I was and low on energy during the day. I am also not a morning person yet at the same time waking up at 10-11am feels like I have just wasted my day.

    So my schedule is now something like this:
    -go to bed at 2-3am
    -wake up between 7-8am
    -no naps
    -get everything and more done

    Anyone else in here who is concentrating more on sleep time rather that waking hours?
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  • Profile picture of the author BreakingRetail
    That is when I usually wake up, keep going at it.
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    • Profile picture of the author jakearms3
      I woke up again at 5 a.m this morning, however I woke up once or twice in the middle of the night, I went to bed at 9pm last night so I got 8 hours of sleep apart from the mid- night interuptions. Overall I am really proud of myself
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  • Profile picture of the author bonniecolvin
    I read this post the other day, and my eye keeps wandering back to it so I might as well comment. How are you feeling during the middle of the day, energized or tired?
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    • Profile picture of the author jakearms3
      Originally Posted by bonniecolvin View Post

      I read this post the other day, and my eye keeps wandering back to it so I might as well comment. How are you feeling during the middle of the day, energized or tired?
      Hello Bonniecolvin,
      Thank you for commentinhg.

      I generally feel a bit tired around midday- 1pm, but I asked people about it and they said it was more the process of change. That is also what I have always thought, so after the 30 days it may get easier and easier.
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      • Profile picture of the author jakearms3
        In my opinion I am doing really well at it,

        My morning routine is motivating me to wake up every morning at 5 a.m. I went to bed at 10pm and I feel really alert after 7 hours. I hope this carries on!
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        • Profile picture of the author jakearms3
          I did it again, however I must have slept in a bad position last night as I woke up with an aching arm. I actually oriented my self really quickly today (a few seconds).

          I went to bed at 9:15PM last night as I had big day yesterday, so I got 7hrs 45minutes sleep.
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  • Profile picture of the author Pilotben
    I have been getting up at around 4:45 every morning for years now, and I find it is the best time of the day, it is so quiet and peaceful . I grab a cup of coffee, relax a bit, do meditation for about half an hour, then I am all set and ready to start my day. If I have to, I'll have a power nap in the afternoon sometime and get up again refreshed.

    I do make a point not going to bed to late at night, and yes, it is important not to interrupt the family to much, but then again, they love me getting them out of bed with coffee every morning, and I would not want to oversleep, then everyone will be late as I'm the only alarm clock in the house
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  • Profile picture of the author Shakircont
    Good luck. It is a good habit to wake early in the morning. Go to bed when you are tired. It will make you healthy, smart. yes, I do this but I can not continue this because sometimes some unusual action I encounter.
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    • Profile picture of the author jakearms3
      Here we are again, at 5:00 a.m I am wide awake and writing my morning pages I am really proud of myself. I went to bed around 10:15pm last night, so I got 6hrs 45minutes sleep and I actually feel well rested.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jolly Roger
    Wow, good luck.

    I'm a night bird and tend to go to bed at around 5am

    But I wholeheartedly wish you success and salute your determination to take action.
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    • Profile picture of the author jakearms3
      Originally Posted by Jolly Roger View Post

      Wow, good luck.

      I'm a night bird and tend to go to bed at around 5am

      But I wholeheartedly wish you success and salute your determination to take action.
      Hello Jolly Roger,
      Thanks for commenting, I really appreciate it. It is quite hard at points, but as I heared from Robin Sharma "Change is messiest in the middle"

      Jake
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  • Profile picture of the author Jolly Roger
    Hey Jake,

    Do you take shorts naps ("power naps") during the day? It helps to refocus.

    "Everything changes when you change." -Jim Rohn

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