Jul 30, 2008 • Paul Singh
I wake up at 6am every day. Seriously.
So, a typical day for me starts at 6am and ends around 11-1130pm. Spare me your excuses, people; you don’t get ahead in life by laying in bed all day.
The Secret
It’s no surprise that you’re probably most productive during non-interrupted work periods. I know I am.
I picked the 6am wake-up time because nearly everyone I know is still in bed. I can crank through emails, blog posts or even next week’s presentation without getting interrupted even once. The best part is that by 8am, when I stop to take a shower and get ready for the day, I’ve accomplished more than most people willall day.
Look at the numbers for yourself
Countless research shows that establishing a sleep routine is good for your body, yet so many of us want to “sleep in” whenever we get the chance and end up wasting our entire day.
Forget the whole 8 hours of sleep stuff – in a recent article, studies show that people who sleep between 6.5 and 7.5 hours each day live the longest:
…people who sleep 8 hr. or more…they don’t live quite as long. There is just as much risk associated with sleeping too long as with sleeping too short. The big surprise is that long sleep seems to start at 8 hr. Sleeping 8.5 hr. might really be a little worse than sleeping 5 hr.
The bottom line
Find out what works for you. Whether it’s waking up early or going to bed super-late, the point is to use your best hours to actually get ahead in life. Force yourself to try a new schedule for 30 days. You can thank me later.