The 5am Club
“5am is the time of least distraction, highest human glory, and greatest peace.”
Robin Sharma
Robin Sharma, a household name among the self-improvement cum productivity field, posits the immense benefits of waking up early (5am to be exact) in his book, The 5AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life. He believes that joining the Club is key for people striving for a productive and successful life.
After much research scouring the internet, reading personal anecdotes and Reddit posts, I have observed some of the common benefits among people who have tried or led this lifestyle. The frequently cited perks include finding a new sense of clarity and purpose, experiencing increased confidence and energy, having an elevated mood, as well achieving an improvement in self-control and discipline.
Being a natural night owl, I feel most in the zone in the evenings and do most of my work at night as I really enjoy the quietness. I usually start my day at around 9am and wind down around 2am. With such a schedule, I often find myself having inconsistent and insufficient sleep because of early classes or meetings that disrupt my sleep schedule. Those days have definitely left me feeling drained and fatigued. Long plagued with these concerns, I decided that it was time for me to find a method to not merely cope from day-to-day but to establish a routine that could allow me to perhaps thrive.
(Image Credits: Tenor)
My 5am Club
Before embarking on this search for clarity and purpose as a university student (in fact, with a rather non-existent sleep schedule), I managed to onboard some members from The Ridge to conquer this seemingly impossible challenge together (Amber, Glennys, Kennice, Wan Qin, Jolie, and Yuki). We agreed on a set of rules to follow throughout the seven days to keep us accountable and motivated to conquer this uphill battle.
With the formalities out of the way, a strong team of seven bright-eyed individuals buckled up for the challenge week. Most of us came into this hoping to fix our sleep schedules, squeeze out more time to accomplish more things and find calmness within the hectic schedules. Now, all that was left was to just do it!
(Image Credits: Tenor)
Our Experience
…Unfortunately, none of us made it.
We got off to a strong start but started slipping day by day. While none of us managed to complete the entire challenge, we still reaped some benefits and walked away with valuable takeaways that I thought are worth sharing.
The good, the bad, the ugly
Guided by the challenge, many of us took the initiative to carve out time for our self-care activities like writing reflections and exercising in the morning. These were activities that we had usually neglected as we went through the motions of our hectic lives. Through this challenge, we got the chance to stop for a moment and take a closer look at what we were actually doing, and make the conscious effort to prioritise certain activities over others.
On the other hand, the abrupt and seismic shift from staying up late at night to waking up before sunrise inevitably left us exhausted by the middle of the week. Furthermore, the pressure of undertaking the challenge as a group and being held accountable added an element of guilt that plagued us each time we failed to wake up at 5am.
Finally, the ugly.
The excitement of the first day waned off as the days went by. And by the end, some of us were left rather confused if the challenge was even still on.
With hindsight, this is some advice I would have given myself before the start of the 7-day challenge, which could help you achieve greater success should you decide to embark on it too.
Finding The Why
While it seems interesting to try waking up at 5am to experience the promised benefits, simply doing just that is not the cure-all. There is honestly nothing too special about the number “5”, or the air in the morning. When we choose to wake up early, we have to be intentional about it. Have a plan, have a reason for waking up early.
During our challenge, some of us found it difficult to do anything productive from 5am to 7am, due to our natural tendency as night owls. Instead of trying to rewire our physiology to fit the schedule, we could find other compelling reasons to wake up early, like catching up on our Netflix series or engaging in other dopamine-inducing activities. In fact, what matters is not the exact time at which we wake up, but the intention.
Setting a Sleep Alarm
If you are waking up earlier, you have to also be sleeping earlier!
Over the course of the challenge, neglected sleep debts slowly crept up to us, making it harder and harder to get out of bed each morning. The abrupt disruption to our usual sleep cycles made this routine unsustainable, rendering any of its proposed benefits useless.
Many of us felt uneasy sleeping at night with the thought of a pile of unfinished work at the back of our minds. However, waking up at 5am actually gives us a great chunk of uninterrupted hours to work on them in the morning. During our challenge, some of us even felt that we were more productive in the morning with our fresh, unburdened minds.
Furthermore, I found myself spending hours engaging in mindless social media scrolling even when I was tucked in bed. I later found out that it is a common problem that many people face, known as revenge bedtime procrastination. It is our mind’s way of seeking our me time—time for ourselves—a mini rebellion against hectic and busy schedules.
Set a sleep alarm. Once it goes off, we have to be intentional, consciously limiting screen time and stowing devices away. Gradually start winding down a few hours before your actual bedtime. Schedule meetings earlier in the day rather than late in the night. Have an earlier dinner to avoid feeling bloated before sleeping. Slowly ease into the habit of sleeping early by taking small actions to change your lifestyle.
Waking up after waking up
Many of us found it really difficult to fight the grogginess of waking up early in the morning, which led us to hit the snooze button or simply fall back asleep. I found that simply drinking a glass of water (it must be filled to the brim) or splashing water on my face is a great way to tackle the morning “Zzz monster”. Prepare a bottle or glass of water beside your bed the night before to have immediate access the moment you wake up (…yes, the “Zzz monster” is strong).
Should You Try Waking Up At 5am?
The short answer is yes!
While it is not necessary to have to wake up at 5am specifically, what is important is that we understand our own bodies and be aware of our commitments. The benefits of the 5am challenge do not come from waking up at 5am, but from taking control and ownership of how we spend our time. By simply keeping a routine that fits our lifestyle, we can reduce decision fatigue, keeping us on track towards our goals.
Let us take a step back, breathe, and live more intentionally!