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Abstract

fore was guaranteed, while the next morning's productive session wasn’t.Statistically, this will lead to less productivity in the long run if I cannot guarantee waking up early daily. Instead of giving up fun activities in the evening, I decided to opt for making waking up early as probable as possible. This way, I allow myself some procrastination in the evening and be ready to slay the tasks the next morning.<h2 id="9570">2. Waking up early for the hype</h2>As soon as you have watched one video of a person crushing it in the early morning hours, you will be bombarded by the YouTube algorithm with videos of people waking up between everything from 2 AM to 5 AM.It’s easy to forget how individual your sleep rhythm is. Waking up at 4 AM may work perfectly for some but won’t at all for others. When I started out with self-improvement, I aimed to wake up at 4 to 5 AM to go for a workout. At least that’s what everybody recommended back then. As a result, I felt miserable the whole day, couldn’t work out effectively, and was too tired to study.Still, I thought I was on the right track since I woke up early.Currently, I wake up at around 6 AM, feel well-rested and ready to take on the day. I am more productive and can still take on some work in the evening since I don’t have to sleep at 8 PM already.Find which time works for you, and while figuring it out, don’t listen too much to other people’s advice.<h2 id="28a8">3. You can also be productive at night</h2>Throughout the years I have been in the self-improveme

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nt scene by now, one concept just won’t go away: “You can only be productive in the early morning hours.”While there is some truth to it, it again doesn’t apply to everybody.If you are working a demanding day-job and are therefore tired and exhausted in the evening, the early morning hours may be the best time to work on yourself.But as a student, I personally wouldn’t have to wake up early. Most courses start at around 9 or 10 AM, and my schedule at university has enough breaks throughout the day, allowing me to stay mentally sharp even in the evening hours. These circumstances could make it possible for me to work throughout the night instead of waking up early. But this is again something everyone has to figure out for themselves.Early mornings as well as late nights, offer an inspiring atmosphere. Both provide you with the necessary peace and lack of distractions. And you usually need the same amount of discipline to do work at said times. Either you need the discipline to get out of bed or the mental strength to keep working and not indulging in leisure activities, although you may be tired.If you thrive at night, don’t beat yourself up for not waking up early. You can still clock in the same hours and get your work done.Risk management is key when aiming for productivity. You need to know where the daily traps are deployed and how you can work with or around them. Now, you can figure out whether waking up early is beneficial for you, or just another justification your mind uses to procrastinate.</article></body>

How Waking Up Early Ruined My Productivity

Until I realized what the risks were.

Illustration by Katerina Limpitsouni at undraw.co

Waking up early builds the foundation of every self-improvement plan nowadays. Endless pages on Instagram promoting the wake-up times of successful people, which they supposedly mentioned at some point throughout their life. However, as with everything in life, even waking up early comes with a few risks, which may harm your productivity more than you’d like.

Here’s which traps I encountered and jumped into headfirst when I woke up early daily.

1. “I’ll be productive tomorrow morning…

so I can watch my favorite series now, instead of finishing my essay for university.”

This statement would be technically correct if everything worked out as I imagined it. But what did happen was that I watched one episode too much in the evening and, as a result, didn’t wake up on time the next day.

Especially problematic has been my reasoning for watching this extra episode in the evening: “Of course I can watch another episode, I’ll be productive tomorrow morning anyway.”

I used waking up early as a justification for procrastinating the night before.

However, in this scenario, the procrastination the night before was guaranteed, while the next morning's productive session wasn’t.

Statistically, this will lead to less productivity in the long run if I cannot guarantee waking up early daily. Instead of giving up fun activities in the evening, I decided to opt for making waking up early as probable as possible. This way, I allow myself some procrastination in the evening and be ready to slay the tasks the next morning.

2. Waking up early for the hype

As soon as you have watched one video of a person crushing it in the early morning hours, you will be bombarded by the YouTube algorithm with videos of people waking up between everything from 2 AM to 5 AM.

It’s easy to forget how individual your sleep rhythm is. Waking up at 4 AM may work perfectly for some but won’t at all for others. When I started out with self-improvement, I aimed to wake up at 4 to 5 AM to go for a workout. At least that’s what everybody recommended back then. As a result, I felt miserable the whole day, couldn’t work out effectively, and was too tired to study.

Still, I thought I was on the right track since I woke up early.

Currently, I wake up at around 6 AM, feel well-rested and ready to take on the day. I am more productive and can still take on some work in the evening since I don’t have to sleep at 8 PM already.

Find which time works for you, and while figuring it out, don’t listen too much to other people’s advice.

3. You can also be productive at night

Throughout the years I have been in the self-improvement scene by now, one concept just won’t go away: “You can only be productive in the early morning hours.”

While there is some truth to it, it again doesn’t apply to everybody.

If you are working a demanding day-job and are therefore tired and exhausted in the evening, the early morning hours may be the best time to work on yourself.

But as a student, I personally wouldn’t have to wake up early. Most courses start at around 9 or 10 AM, and my schedule at university has enough breaks throughout the day, allowing me to stay mentally sharp even in the evening hours. These circumstances could make it possible for me to work throughout the night instead of waking up early. But this is again something everyone has to figure out for themselves.

Early mornings as well as late nights, offer an inspiring atmosphere. Both provide you with the necessary peace and lack of distractions. And you usually need the same amount of discipline to do work at said times. Either you need the discipline to get out of bed or the mental strength to keep working and not indulging in leisure activities, although you may be tired.

If you thrive at night, don’t beat yourself up for not waking up early. You can still clock in the same hours and get your work done.

Risk management is key when aiming for productivity. You need to know where the daily traps are deployed and how you can work with or around them. Now, you can figure out whether waking up early is beneficial for you, or just another justification your mind uses to procrastinate.