How I Learned to Make the 5 AM Club Work

After experiencing the advantages of the 5 AM Club firsthand, I became determined and inspired enough to make waking up at 5 AM a habit for a period of 90 days. It didn’t take long for unexpected events, family obligations, irregular work travel plans, and a thrown-off sleep schedule to distract me. As a result, my streak was broken, and it was extremely difficult for me to return to the routine. The most difficult part was finding the courage to stick with it in the face of all the obstacles. But in reality, I couldn’t wake up at 5 AM if I went to bed at 1:00 AM, and I couldn’t function well on less than 8 hours of sleep.

On the days when I was up at 5 AM, I would experience burnout if I didn’t get the recommended 8 hours of good sleep. By spending energy on things that matter first thing in the morning, being early effectively changes how you manage your energy. Around 9 or 10 p.m., I would be too tired to do anything, such as watch TV with my family, go for a walk with my dog, or read a book. So I had to give up getting up at 5 a.m. when I needed that energy at night.

I therefore needed a middle-ground strategy that would enable me to get up at 5 AM, be content with the days I couldn’t, and still be happy for giving it my all. Here are the two rules that I put in place that worked particularly well for me:

After doing some research on creating new habits and making them “practical,” the two-day rule emerged as the most popular. Though fundamentally straightforward, it is incredibly effective. Simply put, the two-day rule states that you should not go two days in a row without performing your habit. In my situation, I can never wake up later than 5 a.m. twice in a row. This worked like a charm for me. It helped me to keep consistent while still leaving some wiggle room in case I couldn’t get up one of the days due to unforeseen circumstances. Most importantly, it helped me to focus on the greater vision of not missing two days in a row, which made me feel less horrible about myself when I missed a day. It made me cling to the habit much more than being consistent every day over time.

This is my original idea, and I opted to limit the number of consecutive streaks. So, if I can get out of bed at 5 a.m. four days in a row, the next day will be my reward day, when I will intentionally treat myself to sleeping in or doing something that makes me happy. The key reason for limiting myself to a four-day streak was to ensure proper energy management. For example, I don’t want to burn myself out while still having energy to commit to activities near the end of the day. Furthermore, having a reward mechanism assisted me in programming my subconscious to stay the course for four days in a row and acknowledging myself for my efforts.

Let’s face it: You can’t always control everything, and getting up at 5 a.m. every day takes serious discipline. Using the two-day rule to break my habit of waking up at 5 a.m. for two consecutive days and limiting myself to a four-day streak allowed me to carefully manage my energies. And this is how I made the 5 a.m. club work.

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