The 4 AM Rule: Why Successful People Wake Up Early

9 reasons why successful people live and die by the 4am rule number one freedom of choice the average person wakes up around seven o’clock in the morning but not by choice most employers expect their workers in the office by 8 am so more than half of the world begrudgingly wakes up an hour before they sluggishly tackle their morning routines while dreaming of their beds in other words most of the world wakes up on someone else’s terms but successful people take control of their mornings they wake up early because they want to they choose when they get up they decide how much time they have in the mornings and that way they have the freedom to spend their mornings however they want so whether you wake up with a cup of coffee a warm shower or a little exercise you will always have time for your morning routine if you follow the 4 am rule you’ll start every morning on your own terms number 2 jump on the competition if the average work day starts at 8am waking up at 4 o’clock adds an additional 4 hours to your morning just imagine how much you can get done in 4 hours now while most of the world is sleeping you’re paving the way for your success by the time the average person wakes up you’ve accomplished all kinds of daily goals successful people use their mornings to get a jump on the competition they can’t afford to fall behind they need every hour of their day to pursue and accomplish their goals and they need to do it before everyone else for example just look at famous actor dwayne johnson he doesn’t just wake up at four o’clock in the morning he’s already in the gym by 4 am he wants to get a head start on everyone else and that’s how successful people maintain their high level of achievement they’re checking items off their list before most of the world is even awake by waking up at 4am every day you can too number three head on straight motivation comes and goes some days you’re flooded with motivation you feel passionate inspired and dedicated but other days you drag your feet everything feels difficult and you struggle to keep your brain focused on your work successful people have days like this too but their bad days rarely ever affect their productivity why is that well because they use their mornings to get their head on straight even though motivation comes in waves you can develop a routine that consistently inspires you by waking up at 4am each morning you give yourself time to build your motivation by the time work starts you’re feeling your best even if you woke up lazy and unmotivated number four refine your direction success is a confusing path to follow few people know exactly what personal success looks like it’s vague and it changes every day and that’s why it’s so important to set daily goals you need to constantly create direction and adjust your transforming ambitions one day you may be chasing a goal with everything you have but an unexpected opportunity could spin you in a new direction so to keep their goals current and flexible successful people use their mornings to find direction and to create a path that guides them through the day this path gives you a specific destination to travel toward it gives you a target to keep in your sights as you push through your work that target keeps you organized focused and motivated and it soothes any anxiety and self-doubt so if you set new goals each morning you’ll feel confident that you’re always moving in the right direction number five creative space at work you’re bombarded with responsibilities and scheduled demands you have meetings phone calls and emails you’re troubleshooting other people’s problems while knocking out a long to-do list of your own during the work day your brain doesn’t get much time to think freely that’s why many successful people find free time in the mornings instead of bogging down their brains with work they set aside an hour of creative space our best ideas come to us in moments of free thought when your brain is open and flexible it can explore new ideas and reinvent old concepts many successful people rely on creative outlets to dream up their biggest ideas that’s why they practice free-form creativity every day by waking up at four o’clock in the morning you can fill the early hours with creativity and innovation before the stress of your day clogs your brain you can play with and explore all kinds of inspiring ideas some ideas may be useful other ideas may not but an hour of creativity makes all the difference in your day number six hyper concentration your daily life is filled with distractions the phone rings your family calls emergencies need your immediate attention when your environment is littered with distractor after distractor it may feel impossible to focus you’re always bouncing around from one thing to the next so you can never truly concentrate to avoid distractions successful people start their day hours before anyone else at 4 am calls texts and emails will never distract you your friends and family are still fast asleep and no emergencies will steal you away in other words at 4am you have the world to yourself you have a place to concentrate think with a clear head and pour yourself into your passions some successful people use this time to get started on work others use each minute of silence to improve themselves solidify their goals or inspire their productivity peace and quiet is a rare commodity but by waking up at 4am you can spend each morning doing exactly what you want to do number seven shaking sleep inertia your body doesn’t always wake up when you do sometimes it takes an hour or two before you’re awake and alert scientists call this sleep inertia after eight hours of slumber your brain may not be bright and peppy you may feel drowsy foggy and half asleep and that drowsiness can really affect your work because of sleep inertia you’re more likely to make impulsive decisions and practice lazy habits but successful people avoid the detriments of sleep inertia by waking up at 4am they shake off that drowsy feeling they’re awake and alert long before the start of their work day because they rise so early successful people can wake up slowly in the mornings they can gradually energize their bodies and brains instead of diving into their work they spend their drowsy hours on calming low stress activities they read they meditate they write down their thoughts these relaxing activities ease them into their busy schedules before work even starts their brains are sharp focused and ready to be productive number eight fostering positivity nothing stunts your success like a bad attitude negativity breeds anxiety self-doubt and low self-esteem if you don’t believe you can succeed then you don’t believe in yourself if you don’t believe in yourself you stand no chance of rising to the top but how does waking up at 4am impact your attitude and self-belief according to a 2014 study in the journal cognitive therapy and research early risers have significantly more positive attitudes than night owls people who wake up early are less likely to complain or suffer from repetitive negative thoughts and that means less anxiety and more confidence but that’s not all according to the same study early risers sleep better longer and deeper than night owls so they have more energy and greater motivation throughout the day number nine minimize bad habits after a long day at work you want to relax and unwind in the evening hours we’re susceptible to time wasters like tv video games and social media our brains are exhausted so we crave mindless distractions the problem is we get sucked into these distractions all of a sudden you’ve spent six hours browsing the internet or binging netflix and our productivity suffers by starting every day at 4 00 am you can curb those bad habits to wake up at 4 00 am you should go to sleep between 8 and 9 at night most of our bad habits get worse as the night goes on as our energy levels get lower and lower we struggle to step away from our screens but what if you’re asleep before those bad habits can affect you successful people minimize bad habits by closing these dangerous windows their brains don’t have time to get distracted so they rarely do.
The 4 AM Rule: Why Successful People Wake Up Early.