Writer and motivational speaker, Robin Sharma, finds that getting up every morning at 5am helps him to be extra, extra productive. Indeed, many great leaders and statesmen and creatives such as Ernest Hemmingway have all been advocates of getting up at this hour – they consider it an almost sacred time to focus themselves and prepare for the day ahead.  So if you’d like to know why you should integrate a 5am start into your day, here’s why and how to do it well:

1. “He who sweats more in training bleeds less more in war” so train, practice and prepare your mind, body, spirit for the day ahead. By the time the day starts you’ll have connected with your mission and your values and be ready to thoroughly embrace the day ahead.

2. Willpower is much like a muscle. It starts strong and then depletes over the course of the day. So if you’re up at 5am, your willpower will be at it’s strongest, so you’ll be able to focus and achieve much more than you would later on in the day.

3. 5am-8am – are 3 golden hours where you’ll find you have the strongest mental focus and the most energy. So make the most of them!

4. The rest of the world is asleep, so getting up early gives you a big psychological edge. This will make you feel stronger and braver; after all, you’ve started the day when most people are still snoozing. You’ll find yourself feeling more like a leader and less like a victim.

Maximise your time

Build a morning ritual every day.  Here are 3 tops ways to spend the first hour of your day:

1. Exercise – 20 mins

This is a game changer. So job on the spot, skip, do some HIIT or go for a run. This will release serotonin, which will make you feel more upbeat. Exercise will also boost your metabolic rate.

2. Make Plans & write them down – 20 mins

For your next 20 minutes, set your goals for the day and write them down so you commit to them. Think about the plans you want to make and review your day’s schedule. This will give you a chance to focus on your passions and give you time to think about what you want to achieve in line with your purpose.

3. Learn – 20 mins

As you learn more, you’ll begin to achieve more. So use these 20 mins a day to watch inspirational videos and blogs, read great books and watch TED talks.

Tips

 The latest research from UCL now say it actually takes 66 days to hardwire in a new mental habit. So you’ll need to keep going for 66 days before it gets easier.

Change is hard at the beginning, messy in the middle and amazing at the end. So be prepared to go through the tough and messy stage until it becomes normal to you.

Get up at exactly the same time each day. This makes it easier.

Overview

Rise at 5am Monday to Friday and make this your holy hour. Spend 20 mins on exercise, 20 mins to set and review your goals and passions for the day ahead and then spend the final 20 minutes learning new ideas to stimulate your mind.

Get a great night’s sleep. To do this here are our top tips:

• No laptop/phone an hour before bed and certainly not in the bedroom. Ideally no newspapers or TV either, so remove brain stimulation and focus on relaxation.
• Put your alarm the other side of your room so you have to get up to turn it off.
• Get up at exactly the same time every day.

Jump out of bed!

By 6am you’ll feel fantastic! By 8am you’ll feel you’ve achieved more than most people achieve in a whole day!  Good luck!