How many times have you heard the advice to get up early? It’s either why productive people get up insanely early, or famous artists who get up early, or why getting up early is the secret to success.
I actually don’t have an issue with this advice because I’m naturally an early riser. I’m one of those people who can’t stand to wake up late in the morning, because I feel like the day has passed me by already.
No, my issue was always with the particular branch of early rising advice that suggests waking up early to write. Being a writer and an early riser already (it’s a common trait for writers—perhaps that’s no coincidence), I scoffed at the many blog posts I read suggesting I wake up extra early to write.
Like someone trying to quit a bad habit, I kept telling myself I could get up earlier if I wanted to. But I wasn’t convinced I’d get any benefits from doing so. After all, I write all day anyway. Why get up extra early to write more?
My experiment
Recently I decided to try this experiment for myself. I started getting up at 6am to write. I make a coffee, then write until 7am, when I shower and start my day normally.
Although I don’t succeed in doing this every morning, I’ve been surprised how beneficial it is, and I’m convinced it’s worth building into a daily habit.
Productive by 7am
I love feeling like I’ve gotten a lot done. One of the best things about writing first thing in the morning is feeling productive before I even hit the shower. After making a coffee, I usually get 40-45 minutes of solid writing time. I use it for writing only (no researching, polishing existing drafts, etc.), so I can usually write about 1000 words in a morning.
Waking up my brain
One thing I’ve always had against the idea of writing first thing in the morning is that I’ll feel groggy from sleep. I always thought I needed time to wake up before I could create anything worthwhile. Turns out, Hemingway’s quote is true in more than one sense:
There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come to your work and warm as you write…
Not only do I warm up physically as I write, my brain warms up, too. By the time 7am rolls around, my thinking is clear and I’m ready to face the day.
Working on my own stuff
Remember how one of my objections to getting up early was that I write all day anyway? What I missed was the difference between working on my own projects and working to pay the bills. When they use the same skillset it’s easy to not prioritize your own projects.
Since I started writing in the morning, I’ve been able to publish a new post on my blog every Friday, and launch a new content project.
Thinking in words
Investor Paul Graham says writing helps you form ideas:
Expressing ideas helps to form them. Indeed, helps is far too weak a word. Most of what ends up in my essays I only thought of when I sat down to write them. That’s why I write them.
I’ve found this to be especially true when I write first thing in the morning. Writing for myself when it’s dark and quiet, I’ve been able to let go of the pressure I normally feel when writing for others, or for work. It’s the only time I let myself rhapsodize about whatever I want in my writing.
Because of this approach, I’ve found I can explore interesting ideas first thing in the morning and use writing to help me think things through and come up with new ideas.
Why you should try it
These are all benefits I’ve found, so they may not apply to you. But if you’re thinking of trying “Early wake, daily write”, as Sean McCabe calls it, there’s plenty of evidence that says it will probably be good for your health as well as your writing.
Early birds tend to feel happier and healthier than night owls, which may be linked to the fact that work and social hours are more closely aligned to an early bird’s waking hours. Early birds also tend to be more proactive and feel in control of their lives.
Studies have shown night owls tend to be more creative, intelligent, and outgoing than morning people, but for productivity, early birds seem to