Waking up early is very essential to my productivity and strong mindset. I learned this skill from my grandfather. The last time I had visited him India I noticed that he would wake up super early (4am) to go for a walk, and by the time I would wake up he was already done with his morning routine and was reading the morning newspaper on the front porch. When I would wake up to greet him he would lower his reading glasses in disappointment to look at me as I would wake up very late. Then he would go back to reading his newspaper. My grandfather was always a very disciplined man. For me, he was an inspiration and I knew then that I wanted to implement some of the discipline in my grandfather’s life to my own life.

To me, waking up early is a sign of self-respect because you are not giving yourself an excuse to not go after your goals. You are setting yourself up for success in all ways possible and that in itself is such a great step in the right direction. Although, I do set an alarm for 4am, I usually wake up on my own a couple of minutes prior to 4am. My routine is such an important part of my life that I honestly no longer need an alarm clock to chase my dreams. My dreams are my alarm clock.

When people hear that I wake up at 4am daily I know that they think I am crazy, but at the same time they leave the conversation feeling inspired. I am not giving myself credit but people do not usually wake up at 4am. Through this blog post, I simply want to explain my reasoning for waking up at 4am. I have been waking up at 4am for many years now and this has been very essential to my daily routine.

So, why do I wake up at 4am?

1. Quiet – 4am is perhaps the most quiet part of the day with the least amount of distractions. Early in the morning I give myself some time to focus on me. Usually, we are running around the entire day and I believe you can set yourself up for success in the early hours of the day by self-reflecting, exercising, hydrating, meditating, affirming gratitude, and the list goes on. The early mornings allow me to put myself first, and as a result of this I set myself up for a successful and productive day.
2. Sunrise – By the time I am done with my exercise I am able to see the sunrise. This is perhaps the best part of waking up early because it helps me stay in the present moment. As I am able to watch the sunrise I understand the important of these moments throughout the day that we are perhaps too busy to notice, but are the highlight of the day!
3. Exercise/Yoga – Exercising and doing yoga early in the morning help me feel accomplished. I know that as soon as I complete my exercise and yoga session I will have accomplished one of the most important goals on my list which is to take care of my fitness and health. In doing this, I will carry this mindset of feeling accomplished into the rest of my day.
4. Gratitude – As soon as I wake up in the morning I spend the first 10-20 minutes affirming my gratitude for the day. This is not just me saying affirmations just to say them. Rather, this is me being genuinely thankful for the day I have ahead of me, and for everything in my life such as food. Genuinely appreciating everything is life is very important.
5. Inspiration – In the early mornings, my brainstorming sessions are much more successful. I am able to generate much more creative ideas and can really set aside time to think on those ideas. When the day starts – our schedules become so busy that by the end of the day we may not even have the energy to sit down to brainstorm different ideas for our lives (whether this relates to modifying your exercise plan or any other aspect of your life).

Waking up at 4am is not trendy but it is definitely a commitment to myself to become better every single day. Waking up at 4am for me is a reminder of my grandfather’s greatness and in waking up at 4am I feel that he is still with me and rooting for me. My morning routine is very important as it represents the kind of day I will have. Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Manisha