How to Wake Up at 5 am

By Warren Wong

It is 5 AM in the morning. It’s pitch black outside, except for the dimly lit lamp post stationed right outside my modest neighborhood house. The air raid sirens are going off.

Sitting alert in my bed, I quickly orienting myself to my surroundings. I throw off the covers and walk across my room to silence the alarm on my phone.

Yes, that’s my alarm and yes, its 5 AM.

Waking up at 5 AM for most people sounds like a pipe dream, it sounds like torture, it sounds just down right impossible. And for many years, I did too.

What the high performers are doing

I have always thought of myself as an avid learner of the human condition, to see what ticks in people, to learn what makes them who they are, and mainly what makes them successful.

I am not going to get into a whole philosophical rant on what I think success means, as we all have different definitions, but I do want to point out that an incredible or even ridiculous amount of what we as society define as successful individuals have in common.

One of those commonalities is waking up early.

Bill Gates is part of the 4 AM club, and so is 4 star retired General Stanley McChrystal. And maybe you have heard of Oprah Winfrey, who naturally wakes up at 6 AM or Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Atlantic who wakes up at 5 AM.

We hear it on the media, YouTube, and from friends and family all the time: the benefits of waking up early. Pretty much it’s what all the cool kids are doing these days and I want to be a cool kid.

So, you’re probably wondering when this guy is going to tell us how he does it, but hold your horses.

My own journey with waking up early

photo of two grey trains in station

It all started back in high school, when I would wake up around 630 AM in order to catch the NYC 7 train from my urban neighborhood in Queens, NY.

Then I would have to get all the way to Time Square Manhattan to get off and catch the 1, 2 or 3 train to Chambers street to walk my sorry behind to Stuyvesant High School where I spent 4 years of my adolescent days.

Even back then I hated waking up early, and that didn’t stop in college.

I would find every excuse to roll out of bed at the latest possible time, even if it was just 15 extra minutes of sleep by studying less for that college exam that I should have prepped better for or even going to class in my pajamas.

Yes, I did that freshman year, and for those of you who noticed, please forgive me.

Taking drastic measures

And then right after college, I began my journey to commission as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

It was a 10 week long “interview” which required us to wake up at 5 AM, but really 4 AM to get ready for 5 AM wake up.

The first week was alright, but I blacked out for the next 9 weeks.

Fast forward to week 10, there I was, standing in my olive drab service Alphas uniform raising my right hand to be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the USMC.

You would think that by waking up that early for 10 weeks would build a habit for me, but it didn’t.

Fast forward to my real job in the Marine Corps which requires to me wake up at 630 AM, but I still found myself still reluctant to do so.

It took me over 10 years of waking up like a zombie and falling back asleep, snoozing on my alarm clock, oversleeping, and even sleeping through my alarm to finally figuring it all out.

Let me explain.

To wake up early, you must go to bed early. I will say it again. To wake up early, you must go to bed early.

After years of ignoring my mother’s pleas of going to bed earlier, I had finally decided that I wanted a change in my life and to finally get a head start in the morning.

Getting to bed earlier

So, a few months ago on a Thursday night I decided to close all my electronics early and head to bed around 9 PM. I know, it sounds absurd for a guy in his early 20s going to bed at 9 PM, but let me ask you this.

Are you really being productive in your evenings or are you sitting in front of the television vegging out?

Maybe you’re perusing through hours of endless Facebook story highlights that make you feel like shit or scrolling through Instagram for hours on end watching your friend’s stories.

My early morning routine

Well, instead of always complaining that you don’t have time or you’re too busy to pursue that passion project, you can go to bed early and wake up early and actually get started.

When I finally started doing this, a few things happened. I no longer found myself with no time. By waking up at 5 AM in the morning, no else is up. The world is at a standstill and you get the time all to yourself, no distractions. What you do with your time is up to you.

For me, I read, write, meditate, plan and get ready for the day. By starting my day off right I am setting myself up to win and it’s a compound effect. Once you see how much better you feel you will find it easier and easier to get up in the mornings.

If you are looking for morning routine ideas, check out Zen Habits post. Click here.

But Warren, I still hate getting the hell out from bed; it is cold, and I love my warm blankets. What do I do?

I’m glad you asked. A few great ways I found that works for me is what I alluded to earlier.

My night time ritual

I place my phone across the room from my bed so I have to physically get out of bed to shut off the alarm. And right next to my alarm is a glass of water which I prepare the night before and I chug it right away.

After that, I make sure to go wash my face and brush my teeth. At that point I am fully awake and I will go ahead and make my bed.

I have found that this ritual really signals to my brain that the day has started even when it’s pitch black outside.

Everyone is different so another ritual may work better for you, I suggest experimenting. Maybe, you need to do 10 pushups the moment you get out of bed or maybe do some handstands. Whatever your thing is, try it.

Conclusion

Preparation was key to my success.

By turning off all my electronics and screens before heading to bed, I made sure I had at least 8 hours of sleep before my wake up time at 5 AM. My phone across the room next to a glass of water and alarm set before getting in bed.

There was no room for self-sabotage, which is me snoozing my alarm, or not getting enough hours of good sleep.

This method works wonders for me and for the past few months I have had no problems waking up early.

Now, I even wake up at 430 AM now, isn’t that insane?

I use to be the kid that would wake up at the last possible moment, roll out of bed and head to his 930 AM class in his pajamas, and no I didn’t even brush my teeth sometimes. If that kid can do it, so can you.