Tell me about life as an early riser

[MaryJonesEscapesAgain]

After rashly encouraging DD's enjoyment of swimming, we've got to the point where I need to get up at 5am three times a week to take her to training. I'm wondering whether to try and make it my usual waking time so it's less painful, use the extra 1-2 hours to go for a walk, clean the bathroom, do archery practice or something. I'd love to hear about other people's experience of being a very early riser - how you use the time, how you adjusted (or if you didn't adjust) and how it impacted time with family members in the evenings. My usual waking time is 7am, and I'm ok with 6am, but anything earlier tends to leave me feeling sick all day. I'm happy getting up early in theory, but I would like to see DH occasionally (not an early riser) and I'm thinking 5am starts might simply be incompatible with the odd evening glass of wine. Thanks for any thoughts!

We’re up around 5.00/5.30 (but go to bed at 9pm which is probably considered very early for some). We have a coffee then take our dogs to a local forest around 6.30. It’s blissfully tranquil. I love that time of day.

We have animals. You can absolutely do it Op but you have to be very consistent and disciplined about going to sleep at 9 pm. And that’s fine if the entire household follows suit! Much harder when people are moving around and coming to bed much later. Good luck.

Edited to say: we have some wonderful encounters with wildlife when up early! 😁

My husband gets up at 5, sometimes earlier in the summer.

By the time I wake at 8, he’ll have been to the gym, walked the dogs, fed the birds and wildfowl, emptied the dishwasher, done some laundry, often prepped dinner and made an extremely elaborate packed lunch for our adult son.

The downside of this early morning energy is that he’s nodding off by 9.30pm.

I’m an early riser. I get up around 5am most mornings. I am straight up, a bit of sunlight to my eyes (either by Phillips clock in the winter or natural light in summer), put a wash on, unload the dishwasher and straight out. I either walk for an hour, go for a run on my own or do a quick walk and go to a 6am morning gym class. I’m home generally before my children are up (DH at home) he gets them all sorted and I quickly jump in the car to take them to the bus, get home have a quick shower, log on at work if WFH and grab some breakfast and then take my other child to school. If in the office I then travel to London after drop off.
So by 9am I’ve normally worked out, done about 7k steps, eaten, got the children sorted, arranged my diary/emails and feel presentable. I am usually in bed (asleep) by 9.30pm. I have a love/hate relationship with alcohol so it suits me to go to bed early.
I changed my routine having read atomic habits and realising I used to just wake up and go straight for my phone and waste an hour of my life. It didn’t serve any purpose and now I love my mornings.

I wake up at around five am but it is my time to sit quietly and read have coffee etc before I wake the DCs at 6 am. I love it. But that said we are shutting down the house at 8.30 and in bed by 9. We have to leave for school by 7.30 am. I used to be on a train to London at 6 am for work so it’s decades of this sort of schedule. I’d recommend waking the same time daily though. Otherwise your body had no clue what’s going on.

Thank you! Inspiring stories of wildlife encounters, tranquil forests and quiet coffee are exactly what I need. It's reminded me of being up at that time with baby DD and seeing foxes playing on the lawn. I take the point about needing to do it at the same time every day!

I get up at 4 to go to the gym. Like others have said, you need to go to bed consistently early or you just end up exhausted. I’m usually asleep by 8.

I get up at 3 am but you do need to go to bed early. I often don't and days on 3 hours sleep. I have ADHD so I can do that.

I don’t always love getting up at 5/5.30 but my body clock deems it the best time. I get straight up, unload the dishwasher and make a cup of tea. Feed the birds etc then take a bit of time to just enjoy the peace. It’s worth it if you’re able and don’t feel dog tired by 3pm.

I am up between 5.30 and 6.00 a.m to write, but I do go to bed around 9.30 p.m. You will soon adapt to the new routine. Once I've fed the cats, the morning is mine until DH comes downstairs.

I’m up at 5.30 and asleep by 8.30

This is my natural waking time and has been since my late 40s, although I’ve always been an early riser. As other have said, you need to be asleep no later than 10pm and if you do it enough, eventually you’ll naturally wake at that time.

I’m up at 3am most week days and maybe 4am at the weekends. Originally started early rising due to reactive dog and it meant he got time to enjoy the world before it go busy. Turns out I like it better too 🤣
It is the best time of the day.
3-3.45am - me, a big cuppa, and complete peace.
3.45 - get the dog walking gear on and be out with dog 1 before 4am. He gets 40-60 mins walk depending on what he wants.
Dog swap to take the second one out (although usually husband walks her)
Breakfast, shower, out the door for work by 6am (have a 1hr15-ish commute)

At the weekends I’ll usually do a big walk for each of the dogs and then have a lazy brekkie, watch something on catch up too usually.

DH gets up at 5 every day he's not travelling for work. He feeds the animals, makes a cuppa, does 30 minutes on the Wattbike, does some emails/ planning for the day, then in the shower for 6.45 and out of the door by 7.15. In bed by 10 normally.
He says he likes the peace first thing ahead of the chaos of his day

This is just an aside so please forgive the diversion op!

I have tried to get up regularly to write but find that I am too stressed about getting everything done later in the day to be able to get in to the zone!

I would like to know your secret FormidableAnt.

Do you feel wide awake and how do you get your creative juices flowing at that time in the morning?

Really fascinating and motivating responses, thanks everyone. People are getting more done before 7am than I manage all week. Do you fit in family time earlier in the evening? We don't seem to sit down before 8 or 9pm and various activities interfere with meal times.

I think I'll start getting up at 6.30am and then 6am, and then see about the next step. Also clearly I need a dog!

Not at all, I'd like to know too...

I swim before work so am an early riser. It does mean DH (not an early riser) gets annoyed at me for being tired in the evening (he is very much an owl). And teenagers don't want to chat before 10am so I end up half asleep in my bed listening to them chatting about their day. And weekends are hard because I wake at 5am but don't really think I can get up till later, I often read and then end up getting up much much later and being annoyed I've wasted the best part of the day. But early mornings are gorgeous and I love coming out of the pool feeling virtuous early in the morning.

I go to the gym at 5am and love being awake before most people. I’m also an early riser at the weekend so I can do most of my chores and the gym before people are even awake and I feel so productive and well put together. I’m actually a mess but no one could tell on a Saturday. I am in bed for 9. Lights firmly off by 9.45 but usually 9.05. I also need a nap at the weekends and prefer not to do much in the evening.

for me it’s peacefulness and completion of tasks meaning I can meander through the rest of the day with no guilt.

If you do try it, ease in gradually (like you’re planning with 6:30, then 6). Also, front-load chores you’d normally hate doing later: laundry, meal prep, even emails. Makes evenings much freer for family and downtime.

I get up at 530 3 or 4 times a week to exercise, they're definitely my most productive mornings - by the time everyone else is up I've done my exercise, had coffee, put some washing on, done the dishwasher, made breakfasts etc

But the other mornings I lie in bed reading lazily! I don't think it has to be all or nothing

Hello, Hospitalcorners52

Yes, I do feel fully awake once I'm in my chair with a coffee at my side! I'm ready to get back in the zone with my characters.

When we had DC at home, I couldn't write until late in the evenings when everything else was done or else I'd feel guilty. You could try a few different time slots until you find one that suits you. All the best!

I love getting up early, purely for the quietness and coffee (or 2! ) in peace!!

I’m in awe. I’m naturally a night owl, and naturally sleep midnight too 8-9am. I think if I set an alarm for 5am I reckon I’d just turn it off and go back to sleep!

I’ve always wanted to be an early person. DP is. But I struggle to get to sleep, even when I’m tired I can go to bed at 9, but still be awake at midnight.

5am sounds like a lovely hour to get up in the summer but I am wondering what people do in the winter when it is pitch black until 8am? Forest walks in the cold and dark just don't seem very appealing.