Business Insider recently brought you the story of Dan Lee — a company director who starts his day at 3.30 am.
Lee’s incredibly early start allows him to get the very maximum out of his days (he has often completed more by 7.15 am then some do in an entire day.)
Successful people in all walks of life have often risen in the early hours. Apple CEO Tim Cook is known to get out of bed at around 4 am while sporting greats Floyd Mayweather Jr and Tiger Woods have been known to hit the gym at before the sun rises.
So I thought I would give Lee’s gruelling early starts a go, for one week.
Here’s how my morning routine looked during the week.
3.30 am — Wake up, drink two litres of water, two cups of coffee or tea, and a smoothie.
3.45 am — I then began reading as, unlike Lee, or Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, I do not have a pet to spend quality time with.
4.45 am — A 45-minute run around north London, usually a distance of roughly 5 miles (8 km).
5.30 am — Return home, quick breakfast, shower, post the 10 most important things in the world right now.
6.15 am — Leave for work, arrive at the BI UK office at around 7. 15 am to start my working day.
Sunday night was nerve-wracking.
As Sunday night drew closer the reality I would be getting up at 3.30 am for the next five days really hit me and suddenly I started worrying. I fretted about making sure I got to bed early enough, and ended up turning off the lights at 7.30 pm — which I now know was way too early as I did not fall asleep until nearer 10.30 pm.
Monday morning hit hard.
Before I knew it my alarm was going off and my first day of the experiment had begun. I really struggled to actually get up and seriously considered the possibility of either not doing it at all or simply just lying and saying I did it when I didn’t (who would know?)
The first morning felt pretty weird.
Part of Lee’s daily ritual is drinking large quantities of water, coffee, and a smoothie first thing. At best I usually manage a glass of water before I get to work. So my body definitely suffered a shock. However the large amount of sugar and caffeine I had consumed certainly helped wake me up. Whether a nutritionist or dietitian would approve is another matter. And I did get fairly regular headaches, although these decreased in regularity as the week went on and my body adjusted.
