This makes a big difference: set it up so that all you have to do in the morning is jump out of bed and put on shoes then head out the door. Have everything you possibly can packed and in the car/bicycle trunk. Shower before bed, or after your workout in the morning. Virtual inertia can make it harder to get going in the mornings; eliminate it.

> Possibly the number one greatest thing about waking up early is that you all of a sudden have an extra two or three hours all to yourself. You can work out early in the morning,

It's funny too, because I had the exact same response to the "luxury of choosing when they get to work out." Getting up earlier is the perfect life hack to jobs that you can't take a workout break from, because you now are getting your workout in before you even get to the office, when the gym is least crowded. Bonus: sleep in your workout clothes, then you only have to change clothes once instead of getting dressed for work in the morning, then changing to workout clothes at the gym, then changing back to office clothing.

I think that depends on the type of person you are. I do my best to get a good 8 hours, but it usually takes me a good hour or 2 (and a coffee) before I'm really into the swing of things in the morning.

It's even tougher in the winter months when sun isn't really out until around 9am and the sun is already setting at 5pm. It feels like you work through the entire day, and mornings are like getting up at 2am.

As someone who has started at age 40 and am just literally back from the gym: there's an undeniable energy rush from the session, but it really takes it out of me for the rest of the day. I guess I need to do something about nutrition.

On my ideal schedule, which I don't hit all the time but have sustained for a while, I get up at 5:20 to exercise. When I first wake, I'm usually not capable of much mentally but I don't need to be to do something much more useful than staring at the wall or browsing reddit.

Where do people get that energy?

Sounds like a description of what it's like to be a morning person, rather than how to become one. I do not wake up full of excitement and ideas for the day. I wake up pissed. But by the end of the day I'm full of inspiration and generally get a lot done in the evenings. I don't know if this is something you can change about yourself, at least not easily.

My goal, if there could be one, is to make waking up early and working out just like breathing. It's not enjoyable, nor does it suck, it just is.

>I went to bed early

>End of Story

As an early bird, spot on. I don't like being late or being rushed. I also like surfing with the sun coming up or working out first thing in the morning.

Unless you're a landscaper or something, I have to say this sounds a little on the crazy side.

Tell that to my 1.5 hour morning commute.

Breaking it down:

- Silence

I suppose my mornings are silent by default atm but I should probably start playing some music again as it normally gets me going a bit more.

- Affirmations

I feel like first thing in the morning is the period of time when I least need to hear an affirmation. For me, an affirmation is most useful when things are going to shit. Though I can see how doing them regularly in the morning might lead to you remembering them when you’re in more adverse scenarios.

- Visualisation

In my opinion, this should be done at the end of the previous day as part of your planning. If you’ve time blocked your day the night before, you should just be able to open up your calendar app in the morning and get a quick overview of how your day is meant to go down.

- Exercise

I prefer stretching/yoga for 30 mins. I rarely find my mind and body very amenable to getting a sweat on within an hour of waking up. And only doing it for 10 minutes isn’t really that beneficial unless you’re going to do HIIT which my mind and body are DEFINITELY not amenable to within an hour of waking up. The only things I could see really working for this is if you want to go for a quick walk (as I think getting out of the house early normally puts you on a productive path) or if you want to crank out a quick 50/100 reps of a bodyweight exercise like burpees, press ups or squats just to get the blood flowing. That being said, if you are one of the people like Jocko who can summon the will to crank out an hour of heavy exercise immediately upon waking it does tend to kick your day off well.

- Reading

I literally experimented with this yesterday for the first time in a while and remembered the same conclusion I came to the previous time I tried it. It’s a low effort, passive activity that is better suited to the evenings when your energy/willpower is depleted. Assigning it to prime morning time isn’t the best use of time.

- Journalling

Yes for people who are creatively blocked or going through mental troubles. No for everyone else. If you’re one of the former it helps you get on track for writing or gets your headspace in order. For everyone else, you know what you should be writing or doing so just get on with it. Save your journalling for the evenings to reflect on the day and how it went.

Atm, my morning routine is pretty much this:

- Wake up

- 2/3 lessons of Duolingo to get a win before I’ve even got out of bed

- Make bed/tidy bedroom

- Meal shake for breakfast

- Brush teeth

- Yoga 30 minutes, possibly while listening to a podcast

- Start working.

I say “pretty much” as I’ve got into a nasty habit of reading through my RSS articles after Duolingo which I’m going to stop as it means I spend too much time in bed and the day gets off to a sluggish start.

Reading back through this I think there are probably two different camps of people. The first camp prioritise starting the day from a tranquil, calm and relaxed state. The other camp prioritises building momentum quickly to snowball them into the day. I’m in the latter camp but I can see the appeal of the former.

I am not the type to spring up to rush to the gym at 6AM, but if I told a friend I will be there at 6AM, I will never miss it.

> You wake up every morning with a clean slate. But within seconds your mind dresses you up in all the lies for the day.

Excepting the weak grammar, really hits home. When I wake up, I'm certain that I wont be going to work today - it doesn't make logical sense.

By the time I get out of the shower, I'm frantic about all of the things I need to do today.

Basically, I wake up at about 7:30am (pre-COVID, closer to 6am) and do the snooze thing until about 8am. Then I get out of bed and IMMEDIATELY put on my running gear. Only after I'm wearing my running gear do I go to the bathroom, drink some water, take meds, etc. Somewhere between 8:00-8:15am, I head out for a 5K run. I'm a moderate runner, so it takes me about 30 minutes to complete, in which case I'm back home by 8:45am, give or take a few minutes. I take the dog for a walk, then hop on the shower, and then I'm ready to roll for the day.

My productivity has skyrocketed since I started this routine. I'm no longer sleepily moseying through the morning half of the day. Instead, I'm energized and motivated. It stops becoming a matter of if I will work out and instead a matter of when, and if I do it first thing in the morning, then it's a matter of done and I don't have to think about exercise for the rest of the day. It's a huge weight off my shoulders. My health comes first, so I don't skip this ever.

The reason I put my running gear on first is because it feels really freakin' stupid to put on clothes and then take them off because... because i'm lazy? I always tell myself, "You put on the running gear already. All you have to do is step outside and go. If you decide not to, you have to take these clothes OFF, and how dumb will you feel then?" It never fails.