They say the early bird catches the worm. I’ve always believed this and perhaps it helps that I’m naturally an early riser. There are many reasons to start the day early even if you are not an early bird.
Some people find that they work better at night and loathe mornings which is understandable because you should often work when you feel most productive. However, when it comes to entrepreneurship, there are several reasons why business owners should start their day early if they want to maximize their success.
1. You’ll adopt a better morning routine.
When you start the day early, it provides you with the opportunity to create a custom morning routine for success and optimal productivity.
You can plan your morning, eat a healthy breakfast, journal and set goals, and set a positive tone for the entire day which can impact your workflow hours later.
2. You’ll have a longer day to get more done.
What I love most about starting my day early is that I can finish up the bulk of my work before early afternoon and still feel like I have the rest of the day to myself to enjoy and transition away from work.
When you start the day early, you can finish sooner. And, if you love that feeling of accomplishing a ton of stuff by noon or two p.m. you’ll want to start your day pretty early.
3. There will be more time to check and respond to emails.
Managing email can require so much time from entrepreneurs and it doesn’t help that it’s an unpaid task. A general rule of professional courtesy is to try to respond to necessary emails within a 24-hour window.
If you start the day early and check email once in the morning and once again before you end work for the day, you’ll avoid having to sort through messages throughout the day. Plus, it’s so much easier to reach people and handle business during the day than it is at night when most people won’t check their messages.
4. You’ll have more options to exercise and move throughout the day.
Exercise and movement are crucial for business owners especially if you run an online business and sit on the computer a lot. When you get up early, you create a better opportunity to squeeze in some morning exercise, or kick start your work day so you can set time aside later to take mini-breaks and move around.
Exercise, in general, will also help you stay focused and be more energized.
5. You’ll have more willpower.
Whether you feel like a morning person or not, you’ll probably have the most willpower early in the day right after you wake up. It’s nearly impossible to be 100 percent productive and motivated for a full eight hours each day.
After a while, your willpower starts to drain away which can have a direct impact on how much you’re able to get done. You could get a boost and rush of motivation and focus later on in the evening, but you may not be able to accomplish everything you need to get done at that time.
6. The quality of your sleep will improve.
Generally, when you wake up earlier, you’ll need to go to sleep earlier. Adults need at least seven to nine hours of sleep each night in order to boost their energy levels to tackle the following day.
When you run a business and stay up too late, you might have to get up earlier than expected anyway to get back to work or you may even end up making sleeping in a habit and miss out on some important opportunities. Plus, if you don’t get enough sleep, your morning routine and productivity for the day will suffer.
Summary
Most people can benefit from getting an earlier start to their day — especially entrepreneurs. Try to weigh all the pros and cons of getting up early and you may find that changing your schedule will be more beneficial for yourself and your business.
This doesn’t mean that you have to get up at four a.m. and each and journal or go for a run around the neighborhood. Create your own daily routine and stary by trying to wake up 1 hour earlier than you normally do for a week or two and see how it affects your business.
