There’s a reason you should stop repeatedly hitting the snooze button on your alarm first thing in the morning—the most successful people are up hours before most others start their day.
A profile from the Wall Street Journal shows that some people make the most out of their day by waking up at 4 a.m.to avoid distractions and boost their productivity.
That’s right, some of the most successful people in the world are rising and shining much earlier than the sun.
So, what should you do while the rest of the world is sleeping? Quite a bit in fact.
Here’s your new 4 a.m. to-do-list!
Zzzz… 5 Things You Can Do to Get Better Sleep Tonight
Hit the gym
Try sleeping in your gym clothes three days out of the week. With your workout attire already on, it will be a lot harder to surpress the urge to roll back over when the alarm sounds off in the morning. Working up a sweat is also a great way to start the day.
Read the morning paper
Find out what’s happening in the world as early as possible. Check out some compelling stories from your morning paper, favorite website or however else you get your news. Try reading a column from each section of the newspaper to get a well-rounded perspective for your day.
Clean out your email inbox
All those unanswered emails have to be looked at eventually. Tackle your inbox head-on in the early morning. Schedule emails to go out at a reasonable hour, take a look back at things you rushed reading, make sure you’ve responded to everything you need to.
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Program your coffee maker
The best part of waking up is sometimes a good ol’ cup of coffee. Set your coffee maker to go off a few minutes before 4 that way when your alarm goes off you have some brew to greet you. Between the smell of the beans and the incentive of not wanting your cup to get cold, you’ll feel more compelled to hit the ground running!
Check off your nightly meal prep
Have a long day ahead? Try planning your meals early. Take things out of the freezer, turn on the crockpot for a slowcook, season your vegetables. Prep ahead so when the work day is over, you’ve cut down half the dinner time battle.
Do you think the early bird really catches the worm? Would you ever consider a 4 a.m. wake up call?