Being an early bird rather than a night owl won’t naturally lead you to become more successful. There is no secret magic formula to success; this is something you must accept. Success is the result of a ‘simple’ list made up of four things: hard work, talent, passion, and a good dose of perseverance.
Having said that, fine-tuning your lifestyle can help you to pave an easier path to success, and being an early bird is one habit you should consider adopting.
Early Birds VS Night Owls
There are key differences between early birds and night owls and although there are well-known successful night owls, early birds are more often associated with success. Early birds are morning people — even if they wake up with a frown on their face. They are the ones who will hit the ground running very early in the day and use the early quiet time to cross off their list what they consider important. They are the ones fueled by a sense of urgency, the ones who need to see certain tasks completed before lunch.
On the other hand, night owls seem to have a more nonchalant attitude towards their tasks. It doesn’t mean they are lazy or that they slack off but they might not feel the same sense of panic that early birds do. Rather than the early morning, night owls are the ones who find solace and time to work in the dead of night. Both the early birds and the night owls use quiet time to their advantage, but for one group the sun is rising, and for the other, the moon is doing its job.
What Are The Benefits Of Being An Early Bird?
If you’re not used to waking up early, then you need several good reasons to turn into an early bird. Some of the benefits of being an early riser include the following:
No interruptions: The best part of waking up early is not having anyone disturb you. No emails from work to interrupt your train of thought, no group messages about meeting later for dinner, no random phone calls, no kids crying, no friends asking for a favor.
Having the upper hand: With no interruptions, comes more productivity. Being an early bird will make you feel like you have the upper hand. This is a great feeling to experience and you will be crossing things off your list while others are still sleeping.
No rush: When you feel like you have the upper hand on time, you will feel less rushed. This has a slew of advantages. Not feeling rushed creates the sense of ‘slow living’ first thing in the morning. You can eat your breakfast in peace, have a proper conversation, and choose how you want to look for the day.
More than that, when time feels like it has slowed down, you’re not panicking about your to-dos. Accordingly, you can use this time to work on your most important tasks. You can also pave the way for your mind to stop, wander, and tap into those nooks of creativity to spark new ideas that will only strengthen your work during the rest of the day.
Becoming more grateful: Being an early bird gives you a chance to witness the day come to life. It’s a time where you can stop and be grateful for what you have. It may not sound like much but gratefulness is a key component to everyone’s success story.
Be more prepared: In how you look, in what you eat, in how much your body gets to move, and in other ways too, such as being better-prepared for meetings.
Better able to handle pressure: Waking up early gives you time to shake off the drowsiness of the night and gain energy gradually, so by the time you’re at work and someone hits you with a load of pressure, you’ll be ready for it.
A time to set goals – Set goals for the day, the week, or the month. Early morning is also a good time to see how far you’ve come so you can keep your motivation fueled.
Start early to finish early – Early birds have more reason to finish early from work. This leads to more time to be spontaneous in the evening with family or friends and more time to do away with technology before bed so you can get better sleep.
Two Key Disadvantages Of Being A Night Owl
Lack of persistence – It seems that early birds are better at being persistent and are less likely to experience “fatigue, frustration, and difficulties.” This is according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Barcelona. This may be a result of night owls being more prone to indulge in “extravagance, impulsiveness, and novelty-seeking.”
Less proactive – According to another study comparing early birds and night owls, results show that the latter are smarter. Nevertheless, intelligence does not necessarily lead to success. Early birds are the proactive ones, doing the bulk of their work during regular working hours. They’re the ones who are more present during regular hours allowing them to grab opportunity when it presents itself.
How To Become An Early Bird If You Are A Night Owl
It is possible to change your ways and the following are habits that will get you closer to becoming an early bird.
No drastic changes – As the master of mastering habits, Leo Babauta recommends against doing anything drastic. Start by waking up 15 minutes earlier than usual and gradually increase the time with each week so the change can become a permanent habit.
Sleep earlier – Give your body time to rest by heading to bed earlier so that you can leave it earlier.
Don’t snooze – Snoozing is bad for you because you’re giving your body a false start every time you hit that button for another five minutes. Do away with it by setting the alarm at the right time and getting up on the first go. .
Turn on the lights – Unless you don’t want to wake up your partner, switch on the lights so you’ll make it harder for yourself to go back to sleep.
Place the alarm clock far away – This way, you’ll have to get out of bed to switch it off.
Give yourself a good reason to wake up early – Give yourself a good reason as to why you are doing this, something that will be worth getting out of bed early for, such as grabbing an early breakfast or catching a beautiful sunrise.
Much like success, there’s no magic formula to becoming an early bird. Everything you want to do can be done, it’s simply a matter of deciding that you will act upon what you wish for. It will be hard at first but like every other habit, you will get used to being an early bird, and then you will start to see the beauty of your decision.
