What I Learned From The 5AM Club

Growing up, I’d watch my dad, who is the most successful person I know, wake up at 5am every single day. Obviously, during my teenage years, and well into college, I thought he was crazy. In fact, up until my 4th year of college, I never took a class that started before noon because the earliest I’d wake up would be 10am.

Thankfully, circumstances changed that. I obviously had to start waking up at 8am to make it to work after I graduated from college, but what really pushed me to start waking up early was when I began to juggle Icing & Glitter with a full-time job at Elle. I would wake up at 6am to work on Icing & Glitter before leaving for work, and continue to wake up early on weekends to do the same. That’s sort of when the habit set in, but it wasn’t an enjoyable one.

Later on, I realized that I needed to have a calmer start to the day to truly fall in love with mornings, which is when I started creating a morning routine, which over time, I’ve continued to improve.

But the thing is, up until recently, I wouldn’t have been able to give you a concrete answer for why waking up early is important. Sure, I could tell you that it worked for me. That I felt amazing when I could focus on myself in the morning before diving into the day. That I felt more productive and creatively charged. That successful people I know and read about are early risers. But it wasn’t until I read The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma that I truly understood the value in waking up early. Here’s what I learned:

1. Take an hour for yourself before the world wakes up

Whether you are assaulted by a barrage of emails at 9am or you have kids that demand your attention, we all have elements that stress us out in the morning. By waking up at 5am, you allow yourself to have an hour to focus on self-improvement. The book recommends a 20/20/20 split.

The first 20 minutes are for sweating. This helps lower cortisol (stress) and increase seratonin and dopamine levels.

The second 20 minutes are for reflection. This could be anything from journaling to meditation. This practice helps boost gratitude, creativity, and positivity.

The last 20 minutes are for personal growth. This could mean listening to a podcast, reading, or even reviewing your goals. It allows for a rise in inspiration and domain dominance.

Personally, I don’t follow this formula to the tee, because I’ve figured out what works for me. For example, I work out around 10am, so doing an intense workout session once before that depletes me. But I do think that this formula works, because the foundation is perfect. I think it’s so important to have a gratitude and meditation practice in the morning. I also know that I’m sharper and absorb more information in the morning, which makes it prime time for learning.

2. Stop bombarding yourself with external energy

Honestly, nothing raises my cortisol levels more than waking up and checking my emails or social media. Mornings should be spent focusing on your own growth and creativity instead of being exposed to other people. Whether that be in the form of social media, emails, messages, or even the news. You’re at your peak creativity in the morning, why rob yourself of the opportunity to maximize that by putting your energy into consuming?

In the book, it’s recommended that you don’t touch your phone during the first hour, and try to limit mindless consumption in order to increase productivity.

3. Optimize your productivity

A big theme of this book was productivity, which is what I’m all about. I love books that talk about how to get into the elite performance zone. One of the concepts discussed is the 60/10 protocol, where you focus on deep work for 60 minutes, and then take 10 minutes to recharge. Those 60 minutes should be spent in flow state, which means no distraction from your phone. And then the next 10 minutes can be spent doing anything from listening to music to recharge (like athletes before a big game), or listening to your favourite podcast.

Even if you don’t aspire to rise at 5am, I think this book is an important read for anyone who wants to have a wholesome life focused on performance and growth. What are you currently reading?

PS – don’t forget to check out this trick for boosting productivity and an easy hack to get your steps in.