5 AM

April 6th, 2007 Daryle Dickens Posted in Productivity |

Jobs are great for paying the bills, keeping us fed, and making sure we have a roof over our heads. But they can really get in the way of getting to the things we want to do. Especially art. After spending all day on the clock doing what ever it is we do it can be quite a challenge to come home and find the energy to get in the studio and start creating. I know this is a common struggle for many artists. And a common solution offered in the area of productivity is to simply start your day earlier. So that is what I have been attempting to do.

For about six weeks now I have been waking up at 4:55AM. This has been quite a challenge for me. I am about the farthest from a morning person you will find. In a perfect world I would stay up until 2AM-ish and wake up around 10 or 11AM. That seems to be how I was built.  It has been tough to say the least. The real question though is has it been more productive? I think that it is starting to be.

The thinking behind getting up so early has to do with control. Typically we all start off with more control of our day and gradually as the day goes on we lose that control. By waking up earlier we have more hours that we are in control of. And those hours can be used to get the things done that we really want to get done. Before people and distractions invade our day.

I admit that even after 6 weeks I am still adjusting to waking up at 5AM. And some days I am not able to function when I wake up so not much gets done. But most days I am able to get a lot of things done before the world hits me at about 6:45. For me I have found it a good time to get writing done. As well as planning and putting thought into my day. That alone has helped me be more productive.

So as hard as it may be I am finding that waking at 5AM is worth it.