I have been waking up at 5:30AM sharp for the past 20 days, and it definitely solved my problem of going to bed too late.

Even though it feels great to be awaken and doing my daily writing at 6:30AM instead of 1AM, it takes time to make it a real habit (it doesn’t happen subconsciously yet).

Here’s what makes it hard (and how to deal with it):

1) It fucked up my days during the first week
Okay, I woke up before the sun, and really enjoyed watching the sunrise.

But because it was super new, my energy levels during the day were pretty random.

It’s better now, and taking a 30min nap early in the afternoon makes things easier.

2) I have 1,000 reasons why NOT to wake up when the alarm rings
I didn’t sleep well, I felt tired, I questioned the idea of waking up early, I debated with myself.

But I focused on the one reason why it mattered: I committed to it and decided it was the healthiest thing to do in the long run.

If I can’t respect my own decisions myself, who else should respect me?

3) You’re a weirdo
Most of the people find it crazy to wake up so early, and those same people will invite you for late dinner, drinks, parties, etc.

One good way to combine social life and waking up early could be to have dedicated days of the week for it

But since it’s the beginning, I want to make sure to rewire my brain properly before having “cheat days”.

What helps the most is to have an accountability partner.

4) It’s easier to stop on the way
20 days of doing something new is not much, and it’s still easier for me to say “fuck it, let’s go back to what was normal before this”.

So I kept in mind the troubles I had when my sleep was irregular and when I went to bed late (fatigue, mood swing, loss of attention/interest)

When I really want to stop because it’s tol hard to wake up, I allow myself to do it.

But not today, I’ll stop after my next good night of sleep.

Because after my next good night of sleep, chances are that I won’t want to stop anymore (delaying quitting is a strong trick).

5) I have to reorganize my days
Which is also a good thing anyway, since I also lack some structure in my working days.

The idea is to do 100% of what really matters during the morning (I have plenty of time now).

It includes: making my bed, writing, exercising and doing my top 3 important tasks for the day (business wise).

It’s easier for me to get in the flow in the morning.

So, after 12PM, this is all done.

The rest of the day is either for myself, quick meetings, less important tasks or social activities (if I feel like it).

I’ll consider the habit fully built when I’ll consistently wake up right before my alarm.

And will focus on a new habit next month.