I woke up at 5.30am for a month, here is what I got out of it

There has never been a better time to shake things up, and waking up at 530am for a month did just that for me.

Sometimes I find I can be a night owl, others I am a morning person. The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns definitely made me into more of a sleeper. I think both are valid at different times of life.

But t is an energy on the streets and a sense of accomplishment that comes from being up before the rest of the world.

Post lockdown I decided to find a way to re-inject some life into my daily routine, and a self help journal said waking up early can do just that. So I gave it a go.

This is what I got out of getting up at 530am for 30 days:

1. I reclaimed my love of the beach. At 530am you can park the car easily and for nothing, run, meditate and do whatever you like at Bondi Beach as there are so few people there.
2. I got back into meditation and soma breathing which I really rate for overall better health and a sense of calm.
3. I got back into coffee shop life. When I woke later during lockdown, I didn’t have the physical time to fit a trip to the coffee shop into my day, but waking up early means I have so much more time.
4. More Clarity – it is somehow easier to get organised and plan your day when you get up earlier. Maybe there is just roe thinking time, but over the 30 days, my clarity on some big and small issues became clear.
5. I got fitter. When you have the luxury of an extra hour or two, it makes fitness so much easier. I have signed up to a couple of gyms – which means I no longer have to think about fitness, I just do it. And has significantly increased my motivation.
6. Time; By the end of the month I didn’t need an alarm clock. The human body is such a wondrous machine, and by the time I got into a routine, my circadian rhythms kicked in and I was waking up without an alarm clock.
7. I go to bed earlier; No surprises here, but it means that again being healthier and not having later nights eating or drinking to excess have massively reduced.
8. I eat better: This is about not being able to consume heavy food as I am going to bed earlier, and not having enough time to eat at night as I am going to bed.

Definitely worth the 30 day investment.