10 Benefits of Rising Early, and How to Do It

The other night I stumbled on a great article from the website Zen Habits entitled, 10 Benefits of Rising Early, and How to Do It. Perfect timing, eh?

Leo Babauta, who runs the site, wrote on how he rises each morning at 4:30am and the many benefits of doing so. While I’m definitely not in the waking before dawn camp quite yet, the article did a great job convincing me that it’s something worth working towards. Here are my top 3 favorite benefits from his list, but you can read the full article here:

• 1. Greet the day. I love being able to get up, and greet a wonderful new day. I suggest creating a morning ritual that includes saying thanks for your blessings. I’m inspired by the Dalai Lama, who said, ” Everyday, think as you wake up, ‘today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.’ “ Danne’s Note: Is that not the most beautiful way to start a morning, ever? I love this.
  
• 7. Productivity. Mornings, for me at least, are the most productive time of day. I like to do some writing in the morning, when there are no distractions, before I check my email or blog stats. I get so much more done by starting on my work in the morning. Then, when evening rolls around, I have no work that I need to do, and I can spend it with family.
• 8. Goal time. Got goals? Well, you should. And there’s no better time to review them and plan for them and do your goal tasks than first thing. You should have one goal that you want to accomplish this week. And every morning, you should decide what one thing you can do today to move yourself further towards that goal. And then, if possible, do that first thing in the morning.

With that being said, it’s 10am, I’ve already meditated, dressed, eaten breakfast, and now written a blog post—all before checking my email or any other social media sites. This month is really growing on me…