The 5 AM Morning Routine

I never understood the "5 AM Morning Routine." Did millionaires think that waking up at 5 AM made them special? Was it just some club that made them feel better about themselves? If I woke up at 9 AM, and did the same things as they did throughout my day, wouldn't that be the same thing? Turns out, there's a difference.

The 5 AM morning routine is like building yourself with a suit of armor before your day starts. It is one of the only times in the day when less than 10% of people are awake. One of the only times when all the noise is quieted. Our world is filled with noise. When you're not stuck in a social media "doom scrolling" loop, your boss, spouse, or kids are imposing all of their expectations onto you.

Our attention is the most valuable currency we have, and in order to get in touch with ourselves, our priorities, and our goals, we have to harness and protect that attention as much as we can. Waking up at 5 AM gives us the chance to experience a flow state that is otherwise hard to achieve. On top of that, we are doing the hardest thing first. Suddenly, all of the distractions throughout the rest of the day that stop us from getting to that habit that we are putting off disappear. No one is calling you during your meditation that makes you restless, and you don't have to cook dinner instead of doing that workout you're dreading. It's simply you against you.

The momentum you create by building a strong morning routine is irreplaceable. Psychologically, after a morning routine filled with things you don't want to particularly do but know are good for you, you are more likely to make better decisions and be more productive throughout the day. Morning workouts trigger the release of dopamine, endorphins, and norepinephrine, leaving you more focused, energized, and mentally sharp. They also activate your circadian rhythm which tells your body it's time to wake up, and helps you fall asleep effortlessly at night.

I could go on and on about why I'm now a fan of the 5 AM workout, but the last thing I will leave you with is that we all know what we need to do to be the best version of ourselves. The hard part is just doing it. So why not make it easy on ourselves and execute first thing before decision fatigue disrupts our chance?