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Same as for working out or cooking, you can always find time. I cut alcohol years ago and tend to go to bed at reasonable hours: the feeling of waking up at 5:

Same as for working out or cooking, you can always find time. I cut alcohol years ago and tend to go to bed at reasonable hours: the feeling of waking up at 5:30, getting a good workout and two to three hours of work before you even start to get ready for the office is pretty empowering. It feels like you already had a day worth of productivity in. So, to recap: 1. Don't drink (or drink in moderation). It leads to late nights, difficult mornings and wasted hours on (often) empty discussions/interactions. 2. Go to bed early. Avoid screens in the bedroom (they keep you awake) and work out in the morning (helps to feel tired at the end of the day). 3. Wake up early. Where there's a will, there is a way.

dikaiosune 11y ago
Regarding your second (sub) point about screens, I've found that f.lux and redshift (on linux) have been a huge help for me being able to get to sleep quickly after an evening of side-projects and homework.
- hunvreus 11y ago
  I've used f.lux for a while but I tend to simply not have my laptop in my bedroom anymore. I get bored more quickly to read stuff on my phone or tablet, and tend to simply go to sleep instead (as opposed to a laptop where I multi-task, chat with folks and open a gazillion browser tabs).
  - dikaiosune 11y ago
    Yes, I agree, I think that color temp tools are best used to even further remove the sleep effects of screens. Most of my usage is on a desktop in my living room office area, and my laptop never goes to the bedroom. I would advocate for using those tools on top of banishing screens from bed.
bostonvaulter2 11y ago
Just curious, what time do you go to sleep to get up at 5:30? Do you get around 8 hours? I'm guessing at least a little bit less.
- kevingoslar 11y ago
  The secret to getting up early and it not feeling like torture is going to bed early. I'm getting sleepy around 9pm, and am in bed between 9 and 9.30pm. Depending on my need for sleep I naturally wake up between 5 and 5.30am. Melatonin has initially helped me get to bed early, now it happens naturally.
- hunvreus 11y ago
  Well, kinda depends. Right now, because of some crazy traveling between DC and China, I've managed to mess up my sleeping schedule a bit. Usually, 10:30 or 11:00 (PM), especially in the summer. I also found out that I sleep in two chunks when I'm on a proper schedule. I first thought I had a problem until I read about segmented sleep [1]. It seems that there is evidence that before the industrial revolution (and ubiquitous artificial lighting), people would simply wake up in the middle of the night, read, eat or be intimate for 30 minutes and then go back to sleep. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segmented_sleep https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segmented_sleep
- pc86 11y ago
  I am on a similar schedule, and I will start getting tired around 8:45 or so. I'm usually in bed by 9. My first alarm is 4:27 but if I'm particularly tired or don't have anything extra to get done in the morning I will turn that one off and let the one at 4:55 wake me up.
kbart 11y ago
"Getting up early" advice definitely doesn't work for all people. I, for example, am more productive at evenings/nights and my brain doesn't work at until 9-10am despite of how much did I sleep a night before. The better advice would be "adjust the routine to your natural rhythm".
- nibnib 11y ago
  I thought the same until I started a job that required an early start. Even after years of extreme night-owl scheduling I didn't find it difficult after a the first month or so.
  - kbart 11y ago
    Well, my work starts at 8am for more than 5 years now, still can't get used to that.
    - hunvreus 11y ago
      Go to bed earlier.
- hunvreus 11y ago
  I thought I was a night owl as well for years. I even had insomnia through college. But we're all wired to sleep at night. Once I started going to bed early, waking up early got easier first, and enjoyable later. So no, I think I would still recommend people to try and sleep early to wake up early.
- pc86 11y ago
  Has there been any scientific evidence suggesting this is the case? In college I struggled to wake up in time for 8am classes (that I had no interest in taking). Not surprisingly, a big part of the problem is that I was staying up until 11, or 2, or 4 every night. My typical schedule now (29 years old) is asleep around 9, up at 4:30 and gym 5-6:30 or so. Weekends are only an hour or so later than that, and it's been that way since about 3 years ago. My point is I think it is as much why you're waking up early as it is a "natural rhythm" or something like that. I would much rather go to the gym at 5:30 than to a liberal arts gen ed class at 8:00. Yes it's possible my circadian clock shifted I suppose, but I think it's as much desire or habit as anything else.
peteretep 11y ago
> Don't drink (or drink in moderation) This was the key ingredient when I had two jobs and was doing an MSc.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
Chris2048 11y ago
I don't go out and drink as much as I do, but ironically, spend more time planning how to make cocktails as a hobby. I consider it an upgrade of quality over quantity ;-) I agree you should avoid working in the bedroom tho, or you might find it harder to sleep.

dikaiosune 11y ago

Regarding your second (sub) point about screens, I've found that f.lux and redshift (on linux) have been a huge help for me being able to get to sleep quickly after an evening of side-projects and homework.

hunvreus 11y ago
I've used f.lux for a while but I tend to simply not have my laptop in my bedroom anymore. I get bored more quickly to read stuff on my phone or tablet, and tend to simply go to sleep instead (as opposed to a laptop where I multi-task, chat with folks and open a gazillion browser tabs).
- dikaiosune 11y ago
  Yes, I agree, I think that color temp tools are best used to even further remove the sleep effects of screens. Most of my usage is on a desktop in my living room office area, and my laptop never goes to the bedroom. I would advocate for using those tools on top of banishing screens from bed.

bostonvaulter2 11y ago

Just curious, what time do you go to sleep to get up at 5:30? Do you get around 8 hours? I'm guessing at least a little bit less.

kevingoslar 11y ago
The secret to getting up early and it not feeling like torture is going to bed early. I'm getting sleepy around 9pm, and am in bed between 9 and 9.30pm. Depending on my need for sleep I naturally wake up between 5 and 5.30am. Melatonin has initially helped me get to bed early, now it happens naturally.
hunvreus 11y ago
Well, kinda depends. Right now, because of some crazy traveling between DC and China, I've managed to mess up my sleeping schedule a bit. Usually, 10:30 or 11:00 (PM), especially in the summer. I also found out that I sleep in two chunks when I'm on a proper schedule. I first thought I had a problem until I read about segmented sleep [1]. It seems that there is evidence that before the industrial revolution (and ubiquitous artificial lighting), people would simply wake up in the middle of the night, read, eat or be intimate for 30 minutes and then go back to sleep. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segmented_sleep https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segmented_sleep
pc86 11y ago
I am on a similar schedule, and I will start getting tired around 8:45 or so. I'm usually in bed by 9. My first alarm is 4:27 but if I'm particularly tired or don't have anything extra to get done in the morning I will turn that one off and let the one at 4:55 wake me up.

kbart 11y ago

"Getting up early" advice definitely doesn't work for all people. I, for example, am more productive at evenings/nights and my brain doesn't work at until 9-10am despite of how much did I sleep a night before. The better advice would be "adjust the routine to your natural rhythm".

nibnib 11y ago
I thought the same until I started a job that required an early start. Even after years of extreme night-owl scheduling I didn't find it difficult after a the first month or so.
- kbart 11y ago
  Well, my work starts at 8am for more than 5 years now, still can't get used to that.
  - hunvreus 11y ago
    Go to bed earlier.
hunvreus 11y ago
I thought I was a night owl as well for years. I even had insomnia through college. But we're all wired to sleep at night. Once I started going to bed early, waking up early got easier first, and enjoyable later. So no, I think I would still recommend people to try and sleep early to wake up early.
pc86 11y ago
Has there been any scientific evidence suggesting this is the case? In college I struggled to wake up in time for 8am classes (that I had no interest in taking). Not surprisingly, a big part of the problem is that I was staying up until 11, or 2, or 4 every night. My typical schedule now (29 years old) is asleep around 9, up at 4:30 and gym 5-6:30 or so. Weekends are only an hour or so later than that, and it's been that way since about 3 years ago. My point is I think it is as much why you're waking up early as it is a "natural rhythm" or something like that. I would much rather go to the gym at 5:30 than to a liberal arts gen ed class at 8:00. Yes it's possible my circadian clock shifted I suppose, but I think it's as much desire or habit as anything else.

peteretep 11y ago

> Don't drink (or drink in moderation) This was the key ingredient when I had two jobs and was doing an MSc.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

Chris2048 11y ago

I don't go out and drink as much as I do, but ironically, spend more time planning how to make cocktails as a hobby. I consider it an upgrade of quality over quantity ;-) I agree you should avoid working in the bedroom tho, or you might find it harder to sleep.