Youd think the hardest part would be refusing to snooze, right? (and yep, some days that is the hardest part).
But overall, once the routine kicks in, there are days you actually wake up before 5 a.m. (uh-huh late in the 4o clock hour!) and you find you dont need the alarm at all.
So, what is the hardest part, then?
Its getting to bed by 9-10 p.m. to ensure seven to eight hours of sleep!
Its no secret that living in New York and being a 30-something without kids brings a lot of opportunity for evening fun. And that a lot of parties, dinners, heck even TV shows dont get into full swing until my new bedtime.
Do more daytime stuff
Dinners can often become lunches or even breakfasts. Drinks can become coffees (or earlier afternoon drinks)! Most happy hours start at 5 p.m., so why not meet for the specials if you can? Bonus: You can almost always get a table even at the most hot, pretentious place this early. And you save money! Win, win, Theres a rebellious joy to be found in bucking the system.
Be less flexible its fine
As a pretty agreeable person, I like to be easy and work around other peoples schedules (work, travel, exercise) especially because working for myself gives me a lot of freedom. But since joining The 5 a.m. Club , Ive found myself simply saying no more. That 8 p.m. group dinner? Sorry! Can I buy you a drink another time instead (preferably before 6:30 p.m.)? Oh You dont get out of work till 7 p.m.? Lets meet on Saturday instead.
People get it. They have routines, too. And your routine matters just as much.
Grab groceries
When you have food to cook at home, youre less likely to waste 45 minutes scrolling Seamless web or saying, Shall we just go for tacos? and, feeling buzzed two margaritas in, realize its nearing 10 p.m. With the extra hours in the day I have, Ive been enjoying shopping at Whole Foods (some weeks, almost daily) and preparing dinners at home. Added bonuses include: additional saving, cranking up your cooking skills, and probably a healthier diet.
Have a screen sundown
Youre not going to miss anything via email after 8:30 p.m. (unless you have an overbearing boss, which is another issue all together). If you wait a day to watch a show finale great! You skip the commercials, dive in, and batch at your convenience (just tell your friends not to give you spoilers). You dont have to be a servant to other peoples requests or Bravos programming schedule. Andy Cohens just as funny on "Watch What Happens Live!" the next day.
Turn off the TV and leave your phone in another room 30 minutes before bed. Youll sleep better this way, too.
Make your bed
Having a nicely made bed makes you enthusiastic to jump back in once the evening rolls around. Puffed up pillows and taut sheets are hard to resist.
Use your excuse
Tell people youre doing a 5 a.m. challenge. They cant argue with your early bow-out hour then. Because sadly, we dont get to choose how much sleep we need. And research tells us seven hours is the minimum (not to mention the fact our bodies show us all day long when were fatigued).
With a fixed wake-up time, our bedtime has to be pretty fixed, too. But what would you do with two to three more good hours in the day? Rigidity on this one thing gives you countless options with pretty much everything else.
Susie Moore is a life coach and author based in New York City who has been featured on the "Today" show and Forbes. Sign up for her free weekly confidence tips via her website .
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