I regularly go to sleep at times late in the night or the early morning because I am up late working on homework after getting home from school or activities anytime from 4 to 9 p.m. I love seeing productivity tips online and one I see often is people suggesting walking up earlier, specifically at 5 a.m. So I googled “waking up at five a.m.” and a plethora of articles popped up, ranging from, “Waking up at 5 am transformed my life. Here’s why!” to “Why you shouldn’t wake up at 5am. It’s time we address the ‘5am club’,” from Medium.com. These completely different perspectives made me curious about what waking up at five could do for me. 

I tried waking up at five a.m. for a week. This is how my week went:

Monday: I failed this challenge the day I started. I managed to wake up at five, but half an hour later I was back asleep. In those 30 minutes, I did some homework. That was helpful, but I did not complete all of my work. I went to sleep way too late the night before to make waking up early anything other than torture. Even with just 30 minutes less of sleep I still felt more tired than usual all day. I decided to try again the next day.

Tuesday: I stayed up so late on Monday night that I fell asleep at my desk and didn’t manage to set my alarm. I usually go to sleep sometime in the early hours of the morning (anywhere from 12-4 a.m.) so such a big change of schedule was hard to adjust to. But, Tuesday night, I decided to get to bed earlier in the hopes that I could actually participate in this challenge.

Wednesday: Halfway through the week, I actually managed to wake up at the correct time and stay awake. It was a revelation. I got so much done and made it through the entire day without feeling stressed about homework I hadn’t had the time to get to. I made it to my bus on time as well, and even ate breakfast. I completed all of the homework I was going to do the night before so I was not as stressed. I had so much energy the whole day and I felt really good. 

Thursday: On Thursday woke up at five a.m. again, and though I was a lot more tired, I was still very productive. I started my homework right when I got up, and I realized how much better I could focus in the morning because it was so much quieter. My desk is in our family room so at night often my brother, Mom, and Dad are in the room and it gets way too loud. I work better in silence so having some time to myself in the morning felt great. I do not often drink coffee but I absolutely needed it on Thursday because I was so tired. I had to take a nap right after I got home from school so I could actually get some homework done at night. I went to sleep at around 12 a.m. 

Friday: I had actually gotten the hang of waking up at five by the end of the week, and I realized as I did some of my homework that I actually had some time to myself because I had managed to get so much done earlier in the week. I made myself a cup of my favorite tea (Lavender Earl Gray) and grabbed a book to read until it was time to get ready for school. I was still quite tired the whole day but I think the feeling of being able to relax canceled out the fatigue. I was definitely more active in my first classes of the day but by the end of the day I was tired and my focus was greatly diminished. I got coffee again, during office hours to make sure I did not fall asleep right after school.

My findings:

I am glad that I tried this challenge, even if I was not completely successful. I learned more about myself, my study habits, and when I am most productive. I learned that I work best in silence, in my own space. I think I have also solidified the fact that I am definitely a night owl. I was so happy to sleep in over the weekend. I am not sure how often I will wake up this early in the future because I do like getting to sleep in. Also, I do like working at night, although I have to face more distractions, I am less stressed about finishing before school starts.

Even though I am not a morning person, I still thought it was helpful to try to wake up early, but getting up at five isn’t the only way to experiment with your schedule. Whether you want to try this challenge or examine your productivity in a different way, I would highly recommend questioning your established routine to see if there’s anything you could change to help you be more productive. Some other strategies that do not include changing your sleep schedule could be blocking out your schedule in advance, planning to study in increments, or try putting your phone in a different room.