"Wake up early and tackle the day before it tackles you. Be on offense, not defense." - Evan Carmichael.

Have I always been an early riser? The answer is a BIG NO! Do I enjoy waking up at 5:00 a.m. every single day? The answer is a BIG NO! But has waking up that early every day, consistently for the past couple of years changed my life? That my friend is a BIG YES! And right about now you're thinking like okay well I already wake up at 5 a.m. or well I already wake up at 4 a.m. so what is the big deal? Well let me tell you this; I am not a morning person. I cannot even remember the last time I woke up early in the morning on a consistent basis. That would probably be my college days. I would usually toss and turn and snooze multiple times before grudgingly getting up from my bed. If you were to ask me, I would tell you that my perfect time to wake up in the morning is 9:00 a.m. Yes! 9:00 a.m.! You're probably thinking and asking, “how did you manage to wake up at nine in the morning, don't you have work or don’t you have something to do? Well that's where working the night shift comes in handy. I used to work the night shift and I absolutely loved it at that time. I enjoyed it because I would stay awake all night at work and would come home in the morning and sleep during the day. So on my off days I would then sleep till like I said 9:00 a.m. I remember when I switched to working the day shift, I hated it. I hated having to wake up at five or sometimes earlier to get ready so I can be at work by 7:00 a.m. Those days were not my best days.

How Has Waking Up At 5:00 a.m. Changed Me?

1. I have grown more intimate with God
   
   The first thing I do when I wake up is to spend my quiet time with God. Spending time with Him at this time of the day helps me hear His voice much clearer because there are no distractions or different things calling for my attention at that time. Waking up before the family wakes up affords me ample time to study my bible, praise and worship, and pray. It allows me plenty of time to fellowship with the Holy Spirit. I have noticed that this practice has tremendously improved my relationship with God. There is so much more I could say on this section alone because of how I have been transformed by just being in God’s Presence daily but then that would make this post a very long read.


2. I am more disciplined
   
   This started off in my waking up immediately the alarm rings and not snoozing over and over again. However, it has slowly trickled down to other areas of my life. I am more disciplined in how I spend my time throughout the day; being more conscious of those “little foxes” that try to steal my time or distract me from being productive.

   “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom” Song of Songs 2:15 NIV



3. I am more productive in my day
   
   Right from the moment my feet hits the floor early in the morning, I already have a map of my day in my mind. After committing the day’s tasks or to-do list to the Lord in prayer, I am rest assured that the day, even though it may deviate from my original plan, will still be productive. There is something powerful about starting your day off with the Lord and committing the rest of the day into His hands that brings about a productive day. The bible says it very clearly in Proverbs 16:3 “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” I noticed that as I do this, I am able to get a lot accomplished even on days when my strength is weak and all the ounces of caffeine seem to not be working anymore, and all I want to do is lay down and take a nap.

With all that that I have said let me be the first to also let you know that waking up every single day at 5:00 a.m. is not my favorite thing to do. It is by no means easy; well at least for me. However, it is a sacrifice! Left to me alone, I would much rather wake up at 8 or 9 a.m. But I am willing to sacrifice the extra sleeping time so I can get my day started off right and set the proper tone for the rest of my day so that I can be very productive by the end of the day. Proverbs 20:13 says in the AMP version,

“Do not love [excessive] sleep, or you will become poor; Open your eyes [so that you can do your work] and you will be satisfied with bread.” And another version says “If you love sleep, you will end in poverty. Keep your eyes open, and there will be plenty to eat!” (NLT).

My Little Advice to Help You Wake Up Early

For you to consistently wake up at 5:00 a.m., you should consider going to bed earlier as well. You cannot expect to go to bed consistently late and wake up every day at 5:00 a.m. At some point if you do that, your body will give up on you. As the saying goes, the mind may be willing but the body is weak.

There is a Portuguese Proverb that says

"Early sleep and early wake up gives health and makes you grow." Or maybe you prefer to hear from Jeff Bezos that said "Go to bed early and wake up early. The morning hours are good."

AND

Someone once said, "Successful people wake up early, talk less, stay laser-focused, don't waste time, live healthy, and ignore nonsense." Do you want to be counted amongst successful people?

I would love to hear about your thoughts on this. So let’s chat in the comment section below!

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Remember, keep your hope in God for He loves you unconditionally and has promised to never leave you nor forsake you!