I have never been an early riser for most of my life.

My parents had a hard time waking me up for school. Similarly, I would sometimes be late for lessons at university because I could not wake up on time.

These days, I am able to wake up at 6AM almost daily.

Some of my friends have been asking how I do it.

In this post, I’d share three things that worked for me.

1. Have a really strong WHY

In order to sustain this, you need to begin with a strong WHY.

🌞 I want to be awake at my most optimum time

Mornings are our most productive time of the day. In the morning our self-control and focus is at its greatest.

This ability is slowly depleted during the day as both psychological and physiological fatigue sets in.

🌞 I want to achieve more at work

Waking up early gives me more time in the day to focus on important tasks at work that contribute to revenue generation.

If I were to stay up late, there is nothing much for me to do at night. I do not really drink, party, watch Netflix or have supper.

I mostly get home before 10 PM if I have events or dinner.

If I do stay up, it is mostly to doom scroll. This is not the best use of my life. I might as well invest in my health by sleeping.

🌞 Waking up early makes me happy

This gives me more time to ease into the day, opportunity to enjoy a less crowded side of Singapore and enjoy the fresh air in the morning.

Caveat here is that I need to have enough sleep the night before.

🌞 Waking up early gives me a sense of accomplishment.

This helps me start my day on a good note. Every day when I wake up early, I simply affirm the idea that I am disciplined and healthy.

When you consistently keep your promises to yourself, you establish a sense of trust and confidence in yourself.

You begin to see yourself as someone who is reliable and capable of following through on commitments, which can boost your self-esteem and self-worth.

I believe waking up early is the easiest way to improve your odds for success and identify as an achiever.

You don't have to wake up early to be successful. However, you rarely find an early riser that is not a winner in life.

2. Go to bed earlier

The most impactful strategy for becoming a morning person is simply to go to bed earlier.

There are many things you can do to fall asleep faster.

Here are some which has worked for me.

1. Going to be at fixed times per day. I close my laptop and am in bed at 1030PM daily.

2. Exposure to bright blue light in the evening can make it harder to fall asleep. Adjust your computer and phone display settings to warm colours after 6 PM.

3. Use lavender spray in my room

4. Dim the lights and set your room to slightly colder temperature. I try to turn on aircon for 30 minutes before bed and off it before I sleep.

5. Working out 3x per week at least (Your body feels tired naturally and you just sleep)

I am a firm believer in having fixed schedules and also automatic rules. This really leads to consistent effort and result.

You avoid negotiations with yourself and turn desired action into default action.

In the long run the quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our habits.

3. Make changes incrementally

The body’s circadian rhythm, or natural body clock, needs time to adjust to the new routine.

As such, it is better to make changes incrementally. This means changing your habits gradually while being aware of the big picture.

You can break down your goal into smaller and achievable steps.

For my case, I went from waking up at 730AM to 7AM to 630AM and now 6AM.

Hope you’d find this helpful. For a set of scientifically backed ideas, do check out this set of advice by Andrew Huberman.

Recommendations

One of the biggest shift from being a remote worker to one who had to go to office almost daily was that I am now exposed to aircon for several hours.

Many Singaporeans do not realize that this can lead to skin problems like dehydrated and dull skin. In the long run, it would lead to fine lines, blemishes, wrinkles, and hyperpigmentation.

Besides aiming to drink as much water as possible, I also use a moisturiser daily.

One of the best moisturisers I have found is the Paula’s Choice multi-active vitamin C moisturiser.

It combines clinically proven hydration with anti-aging benefits to improve dullness, revive firmness and strengthen skin’s barrier.

I do not earn any affiliate fees from this but personally feel it has worked wonders for me.

Both men and women can definitely benefit from this. Get it here.

I am a Singaporean tech worker and content creator. Every week, I share ideas on how we can become our best selves in our career; finance; health and relationships.

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