Becoming an early riser isn’t about trading sleep for productivity. It’s about taking back a part of your life by trading tired evening hours for productive and wakeful mornings.

You probably can’t tell your boss that you’ve decided not to work between 9-11am because you need productive time for yourself and personal projects. You’d be laughed at. What you can do is make a habit of waking early and add hours of productivity to your every morning!

Here are just five of the benefits you’ll enjoy as an early riser:

1. Freedom from distractions -

Whether you have a house full of kids or a phone that never stops ringing, the early morning is the best time to escape the distractions of daily life.

2. More time for personal projects -

If you’ve ever wanted to start a blog, save your marriage, write a novel, get more exercise (one of my early-morning heavy-hitters), or paint your kitchen, do it in the morning. You’ll get more done in an hour of early morning productivity than you could ever hope to accomplish in the evening after a long day of distractions.

3. A change in perspective -

Have you ever gone for a swim in very cold water? At first, the temperature is shocking. Then you become accustomed to the coolness and begin to find it refreshing. Getting up early allows you to approach your life with the same technique. Instead of leaping into your day and stroking furiously for the other side, starting early leaves you with enough time to paddle around a bit and enjoy the process of wakefulness.

4. The Sunrise -

I’m entirely with Leo on this point. I’m usually a mile into my morning walk by the time the sun makes it over the horizon. There is no greater primal joy (except holding one’s child for the first time, perhaps) than experiencing the warmth and light of another new day beginning.

5. Starting the day off right -

When you begin your day by acting in a way that says, “I am going to take care of my body, mind and spirit” you set a precedent for the rest of your day.

So how do you become an early riser? Just follow two simple steps:

1. Read 5 Steps To Falling Asleep Easily and practice the steps each evening at a time that will give you plenty of rest before the start of your day.
2. Subscribe to Primal Stride so you don’t miss upcoming articles with great tips to help you start your day with a spring in your step! We’ve already done one seven-day challenge with an early-riser component. Stay tuned for the next!

If you’re already an early riser, sound out in the comments with something you enjoy about the early morning! (And no, staying up until 5am doesn’t count… although it is fun.)

sunrise