The Most Peaceful Time of My Life Was Waking up at 4 AM Every Day
The bizarre power of 12 am to 6 am.
There is beauty in darkness.
I experienced both the darkness at 4 am, and the darkness of the mind. Earlier in my life, I used to wake up at 4 am every day. It’s a weird habit, I know. And I don’t recommend you do it every day. I’m not one of those self-help guys peddling snake oil hacks you can’t actually implement.
But I don’t regret waking up at 4 am. It taught me a lot, although the lessons for you will be unexpected.
You get a head start on the day
My schedule was simple: go to bed at 9 pm and wake up at 4 am. (The fact I wasn’t sleeping for 8 hours is a huge problem looking back.)
I’d go straight to my home office after waking up. I’d lift the blind and look out the window. Total darkness. Not the kind of darkness you get in the evening while you have dinner. No, it was pitch black. You couldn’t see a thing, and I loved it.
At this time of morning the after dark creatures were out playing. I had bats in the tree above my home. I had possums that would run underneath my office window. Often the possums would stop while darting from one side to the other and look up at me. It was a weird experience. It’s as if they were saying, “What the heck are you doing up at this hour? You’re supposed to be in bed amigo.”
After admiring the darkness, I’d turn my computer on. I’d then sit down and try to write one decent thing before my job started. It would take some time to get my mind into gear. After all, it was 4 am and I should have been sleeping and getting proper rest.
Eventually, I’d start typing out my first article. Writing at 4 am was how I took control of the other darkness: my mental illness. I’d take the dark thoughts out of my head and try to flip them around into something that was helpful to others. Occasionally I’d look out the window for inspiration.
A piece of office furniture stood tall next to the window. On it were my turntables and record collection. At this point in my life, DJing had started to become a distant memory. Getting up in front of a crowd just wasn’t possible anymore due to the mental darkness.
Writing at 4 am was the replacement for playing music to a dance floor after dark. I’d write until 7 am. Then I had to start my getting-ready-for-job schedule, so I could arrive at the big bank with glass doors that I worked at.
Realization
I chased the feeling of getting a head start on the day. Not the accolade of waking up early as a badge of honor. Getting work you love done before you get ready for the grind helps provide motivation and momentum that can bleed into other areas of your life.
The 3 AM Job
My love affair with the early hours of the morning started as a young adult. I’d worked my way up through the DJ ranks to a proper nightclub residency. The gig started at 3 am every Wednesday morning. When I told people about the gig they laughed at me.
“Nobody parties at 3 am on a Wednesday morning when they have work the next day.”
The critics were right. It was an odd time to play. The first few weeks we only had like 2-3 people on the dance floor — and one person was the bartender. As we remained open for a number of months, the crowd started to build.
It turns out that Wednesday morning is when hospitality workers go out for a night on the town to let their hair down. It’s the one time slot they have no customers to serve.
The next part is silly. After I finished my gig, I’d then go home to sleep for an hour or two and then get ready for work. It’s a lifestyle only a young adult could live and I don’t recommend it.
Getting ready for work when everybody else is sleeping was cool. Driving on the road when you’re the only car is freeing. There’s nobody to cut you off or overtake you, so you can drive slower and be calm.
One of my good friends became the attendant at the 7-Eleven store next to the nightclub. His shop was the only one that fed hungry DJs meat pies in the early hours of the morning. Chatting to him helped interrupt my nerves, although I’d often vomit after eating pies, due to the fear of the gig. I smiled and acted confident though. Nobody knew my huge secret.
As the crowds got bigger the power of 3 am started to have an effect on me. At a time slot when success in any job is thought to be impossible, I’d made it happen. One night I stood in the DJ box and looked down. The club was full and people were dancing their hearts out. The looks on their faces told me one thing: they felt free. This odd time slot gave them something they hadn’t had in a long time.
They could forget about their huge student debts. They could forget about housing affordability becoming out of reach. They could indulge in a few Vodkas that cost more than lunch at a venue they worked at.
The feeling was tribal. I felt like the Indian Chief leading a group of warriors in song and dance to celebrate the gift of life.
Creativity executed at 3 am can make you feel alive.
Does the after dark give you an advantage in life?
The University of Chicago found that being a night owl means you have a higher tolerance for taking risks. This can be helpful if you want to be entrepreneurial.
Researchers from a university in Milan found that creativity peaked among those who worked late into the night. They had a higher chance of producing ideas that were unconventional.
When I was single, being a night owl worked. When I got into a proper relationship I had to give away the lifestyle. My girlfriend wouldn’t tolerate been woken up every morning at 4 am as I loudly got out of bed.
Waking up at 4 am is obviously not practical for most people. My friends who are parents report that they get used to been woken up at the early hours of the morning. They also told me that there’s something magical about this time of day, although they couldn’t agree on why.
What this all means for you
Obviously, don’t wake up 4 am every day, unless you’re a navy seal or want to cold shower your way to productivity burnout like I did. But there is magic in the after dark for you.
Experiment: You can practice enjoying the hours between 12 am and 6 am once a month.
You can occasionally experiment with these odd hours of the day to see if it unlocks any creative superpower. At the very least, experience the most peaceful time of the day at least a few times in your life. There’s something about the bizarre power of 12 am to 6 am that quietly messes with your mind.