One of my many quirks is that I find it absolutely terrifying to think about living life on someone else’s terms. Sometimes I recognize these really ambiguous and almost certainly erroneous associations I have made on these grounds. Rising early is one such example. I associated it with something people dread and a necessary evil of most forms of employment. It was therefore to be avoided at all costs, as it would be a sure sign that outside forces were dictating my life to me.

Therefore I embraced absolutely absurd sleep schedules ever since I graduated from high school. Over the course of several years I supported myself playing poker, which made late nights a necessary and welcomed fact of life. When I was still living at home, I would often cross paths with my mother as she rose to start the day and I staggered wearily to bed. The total absence of structure in my life coupled with my undiagnosed ADD meant that this kind of schedule went on for years. I would occasionally make a half-hearted attempt to develop a reasonable sleep schedule based on the advice of books I read or people I respected, but deep down I think I believed sleeping until noon or later was a sign of success.

Fast-forward to the present. I’m finally ready to try again, but this time for my own reasons.  I won’t explore all of the implications right now, but I will say that the recent diagnosis and treatment of my ADD is a key factor in my current success and optimism that it will continue. The benefits I have experienced due to my new habit of rising early are too obvious to ignore:

• Psychologically, it makes me feel I’m “giving my all” in regards to my life and career goals
• I’m surprisingly focused  in the early morning (5am)
• I feel more rested on less sleep (previously, I would sleep 9+ hours and still feel tired)
• I’m MUCH more productive; it’s a lot easier to squander 10pm-2am than it is 5am-9am

Right now I’m waking up at 4:55am. (Doesn’t 4:55am seem so much more impressive than 5:00am?) I’m not sure on the exact schedule I’ll settle into, as I haven’t experimented very much beyond slowly working myself to my current status. I also still need to explore what the experts have to say on the matter.  I look forward to really finding my groove and continuing to increase my productivity.