Create a habit of waking up early - a guide

Habits can be deceptively easy to form. Until you actually try one your mind has been resisting.

For some people, waking up early comes naturally. So this post isn't for them. This also isn't for you if you don't feel any particular need for waking up early or if there is someone reliable around to wake you up when you need to.

After the meditation habit, this one was on my goals list. But I kept falling off the trail for one reason or another. Now that I've formed this habit, will note down what I did in case I have to go through it again.

The following is based on a combination of methods described by Leo Babauta, Scott Young, 'No meat athlete' and Maneesh Sethi. And my own experience, of course.

Before you commit to making this change - Have a reason to do so.

There is nothing spectacularly remarkable about waking up early. And it isn't necessary at all. (In fact there are many people out there, happy and productive with a late-to-bed late-to-rise cycle. Some of the most successful drug dealers and shady businessmen do the bulk of their activities after 10 pm and spend most of the day in bed.)

However, if after thinking about it you do find some good reasons why you want to start waking up early, it will make things that much easier for you. Write the reasons down. A vague goal like leading a better life or getting life in order will not help you sustain this habit for more than a few days, if at all. The reasons could be as mundane as they were for me - finding time to run/walk in the morning because I usually procrastinate on doing so in the evening (watching the sunrise is a bonus). But it should be something you really really want.

So invest some time in thinking why you want to do so. If you see yourself doing well as a night owl, follow that.

Once you find a reason (s)....

Step 1: Decide on an activity to do in the morning immediately after waking up.

This should be something you really like doing, something you look forward to, preferably something that isn't hard to do. Could be reading a book or taking a walk or drinking tea/coffee, whatever you like. Avoid the internet at this time. You don't want to replace one unwanted habit with a potentially addictive one. Also, the internet has a way of making you spend way more time on it than you intend to. So choose an activity that you enjoy and that will keep you up. But something that is easy to do so your brain isn't averse to start doing it.

Step 2: Choose a date to get started, preferably in a week or so.

This lets your mind dwell on the change and get prepared slowly. You start expecting the change. 'From tomorrow, I'm going to to wake up early' doesn't work in my experience. Neither does, 'I'm trying these days...' What does work is making a decision on Jan 7 that 'I'm going to wake up early everyday from Jan 14 to Feb 14'. A specific time frame for your brain to process makes this change easier. Aim for just 30 days of this, not an indefinite period.

Step 3: Choose a time that is close to your current waking time. 

Even if your goal is to wake up at 5 am, going for that right from the start when your current waking time is 8 am will make things harder for you to sustain. Your body can take this sort of change, but only if forced (as in an army barracks) or if you have some really intense commitment to the goal. So choose just a half hour earlier or even 15 minutes earlier than your usual time. Then every few days as you succeed in waking up at that time, push back the waking time 5-10 mins till you reach your final goal.



Step 4: Have a foolproof alarm - something that will ensure you get up

Invest in a good clock if  need be or swallow your pride to ask someone living with you to help you get up early (if they are an early riser). Whatever you use, make sure it gets you out of the drowsy state of mind  long enough for you to know what you are doing up so early and start doing that activity you decided. Place the alarm away from the bed so you have get up and walk to shut it off.

Step 5: Set up accountability

This was the single most useful step for me without which I'd have failed. Many of us are whip-driven creatures and like to avoid punishment more than gaining pleasure. To incorporate this aspect into habit making, set up a system so that if you fail you have to undergo some form of punishment. For me this was a simple deal with a friend - if I did not walk over to his place (about 10 mins away) and text him details of any car parked in front of his building by a certain time in the early morning, I'd have to pay him 5 bucks for that day. This achieved two goals - accountability and a simple mindless activity to do immediately after waking up. By the time I came back after 20 mins I wasn't sleepy anymore. Choose something that you would hate to do if you miss.

Step 6: If you miss, start again.

Life will happen. Sometimes you won't be able to get to bed on time. Do not despair. Cut your losses and re-start as if nothing happened. If this happens several days in a row, then there might be something significant that needs changing. But an occasional slip-up is no cause for discouragement.


Step 7: Decide on bedtime. Wind down with rituals.

Count back the hours from when you need to wake up and choose a bed time based on how much sleep you need and start winding down about 1-2 hours before that. Winding down could be some rituals like brushing teeth (also implies not eating anything after say 10 pm) , a shower, reading from a book, shutting off all screens (phone laptop, e readers), dimming the lights, meditating, whatever. Rituals are vastly underrated. Follow them.

Step 8: If you can't sleep, don't force it.

Usually, following the above steps will make it easier to fall asleep. Also, getting tired through exercise is the best sleep-inducing drug. If however, you can't sleep in the early days of this habit making, don't force it. There will be such days - try to find things to do at such times that don't involve computers, eating, or loud music.


Avoid taking on other habit - commitments at this time. There isn't much benefit to stretching your willpower thin.

All of these steps (in no particular order) seem to be too many complications and work for something as simple as waking up early. However, once the habit is formed, the number (and quality) of hours you add to your day along with the feeling of well-being, make doing all this worth it. What's more, once the habit is formed even disturbances in your schedule or the occasional late night out doesn't affect it.