The Slow Shift to Becoming an Early Riser

For most of my 20s, I woke up whenever I felt like it.

Short commute. CK4 and I played poker tournaments every night. Then, late nights in Manayunk on weekdays. I wasn’t too concerned with work performance. As long as I showed up, I was being paid. (Little did I know that being self-employed has a strong correlation to increased work performance)

Over time, that changed.

At 30, I started getting in earlier but that’s mainly because I moved closer to work. I still had late nights here and there, but they were reduced.
During Covid, I was in by 7:30am.
Then came a longer commute once the business moved , and suddenly I was waking up at 6 just to beat traffic.

Now I wake up at 5:45, grab a breakfast sandwich, coffee, and spend a quiet hour with the Wall Street Journal before work.

It’s one of the best parts of my day.

I start the day reviewing financials, responding to Europeans who hardly work, and start the day with intention.

I’ve realized I get more done between 7–9am than I do from 2–4pm. By then, I’m spent.

This morning I was out at 9am and stuck in traffic with commoners. This is what you get when you toil with the masses. Cue Sam’s Costco blog.

Waking up early isn’t something you flip on overnight. It’s a progression.

But over time, your body adjusts and eventually, sleeping past 7 feels like oversleeping. I’m not sure it’s good or bad. It only feels more mature. Perhaps this is why I’ve been going to bed at 10. The lifestyle continues to evolve until your dirt nap. I’m not sure how early or late you have to get up to avoid that.