I’m sitting here at my favorite coffee shop, as I do, and I overheard part of a conversation at the next table over. One woman shares with her friend, how her alarm was set for 6:40 a.m. but she slept through it and didn’t wake until 7:40 a.m. Then she was rushing to get her son ready for school, blah, blah, blah. I tuned out for the rest of the story.
A quick thought went through my head, “Wow…6:40 a.m. is such a late time to get up. But then to go back to bed? How do you even sleep until 7:40 a.m.?” Not to be smug, but by 7:40 a.m. this morning, I had run to a local track, done a speed interval workout, run home, showered, drove to the coffee shop, ate breakfast, checked email, scanned Facebook, updated a training module on “Developing Expertise, submitted an online print job, and designed a t-shirt for an upcoming event.
I love early mornings, because I can get so much done without interruptions. Of course, I wasn’t always that way. When I was in college, I avoided 8 a.m. classes with a creative and passionate zeal. The turning point for me was with my first “real” job. It was one of those pivotal life lessons for me.
When I graduated from college, I lived at home for about a year. I had started my job at Aetna Life & Casualty and had to be there at 8 a.m. My parents lived about 30 minutes from my office, so I woke up with just enough time to get ready and arrive at work right on time. I was in my second week of my job and I went outside to jump in my car and it wouldn’t start. I was panicked. I didn’t have spare time for a Plan B.
I remember calling my Dad, who had been at his office for over an hour at that point. My Mom had also left the house to get to work. There was no one that could help. Dad shared some fatherly advice. He said, if you woke up earlier, you would have time to deal with this type of situation and STILL get to work on time.
Unlike me, my Dad was always an early riser. I thought it was easy for him, but not so much for me. But I realized that the only thing worse than waking up earlier was the feeling I had that morning – the panic, the running late, the feeling when I walked into the office late as a newbie. I vowed that it would not happen again.
Ever since that fateful day, I have always been the first one in the office. It became my new habit and it has served me better than any other productivity hack – bar none – in the past 35 years. Regardless of where I’ve worked, I have found that those early hours is when my productivity is on steroids. It’s my time. No interruptions. Time to think, plan, strategize and get things done.
And while I didn’t do it when I worked for others, as an entrepreneur there is another huge bonus. I can easily quit “early” whenever I want, because I can typically get a full day’s work done by 2 p.m. And that really works for what’s important to me – life balance.
Thanks Dad!
