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My 5am Ritual: How Waking Up Early Unlocked My Productivity Superpowers
As an entrepreneur, the biggest struggle I face is finding long stretches of uninterrupted time to think deeply and do meaningful work. Between a packed calendar, endless meetings, and the general chaos of startup life, truly focused hours are incredibly hard to come by.
That all changed when I instituted my 5am morning ritual.
While it may sound extreme to some, waking up at 5am has been a game-changer for my productivity, creativity and overall effectiveness as a founder and leader. Those precious morning hours before the world wakes up have unlocked what I call my “productivity superpowers.”
The truth is, I’ve always been an early riser, accustomed to waking up well before dawn to tackle tasks and get a head start on the day. However, in the past, those morning hours often fell victim to checking emails, responding to messages, and putting out fires – the opposite of intentional, proactive time.
It wasn’t until I instituted a structured 5am ritual that I could truly take advantage of that morning willpower and focus. Here’s exactly what that ritual looks like:
I wake up at 5am sharp, without hitting snooze. After splashing some water on my face, I spend 15 minutes on light morning yoga and meditation to ground myself. Feeling centered, I then review my calendar for the day and map out my time in 30-minute blocks.
The next 30 minutes is sacred “thinking time.” No emails, no messages, no problem-solving. Just pure thinking about my bigger vision, motivations, and what truly matters most. I let my mind wander, make new connections, and gain clarity.
Create space to think. Yes, space to think.
“The next 30 minutes is sacred “thinking time.” No emails, no messages, no problem-solving. Just pure thinking about my bigger vision, motivations, and what truly matters most. I let my mind wander, make new connections, and gain clarity.”
With that mindset reset, I spend another 60-90 minutes on my highest leverage activities like writing, strategizing, or creating content. By the time 8am rolls around, I’ve already accomplished more meaningful work than most do in a full day.
Protecting those first few morning hours for my ritual has been transformative. For years, I stumbled through my days in a reactive mode, constantly putting out fires and being pulled in a million directions. My focus was fragmented, leaving me feeling drained and unfulfilled at the end of each day.
But since implementing my 5am ritual, I’ve experienced a profound shift in my energy, mindset and productivity. Those intentional morning hours have unlocked what I call my “productivity superpowers”:
Laser-Sharp Focus
When I wake up before the rest of the world, my mind is clear and distractions are minimal. I can devote my peak mental resources to coding, writing, or tackling top priorities. No more context switching or fractured attention.
Proactive Mindset
Starting my day with calibrated thinking time helps me rise above the daily reactivity. I’m more intentional about how I spend my time and attention rather than simply responding to whatever fires come up.
Reduced Stress & Anxiety
Having a calming, purposeful start to my day through meditation, planning, and goal-setting puts me grounded. I don’t feel frantic or frazzled. There’s less background noise creating stress and anxiety.
Compounding Consistency
Waking up at 5 am daily is now just habitual for me. However, that consistent routine and the productive hours it unlocks have a compounding effect over weeks and months. The output and clarity I’ve gained are remarkable.
Increased Self-Discipline
There’s no hitting snooze or letting sluggishness take over when my alarm goes off at 5am. Sticking to my ritual takes willpower, and that self-discipline mentality extends throughout my entire day.
Rather than squandering my most precious morning hours, my 5am ritual ensures I spend that peak time on what matters most – creative thinking, strategic planning, and meaningful output. It’s been a powerful mindset shift that has turbocharged my productivity as an entrepreneur. Instead of letting the days happen to me, I take control right from those first morning hours.
Of course, instituting such an aggressive morning ritualt easy at first. Following are some of the key obstacles I had to overcome and tips for making it work:
Getting Enough Sleep
This goes without saying, but waking up at 5am requires going to bed early enough 
to get 6-8 hours of sleep. For most nights, that means lights out by 10:30-11:00 pm many nights. Developing a nighttime routine of winding down, turning off screens, and being asleep by 10pm was crucial. During early BakedBot development sprints, I found myself awake at 2:00-3:00 am in the mornings working with developers around the globe. While sometimes, this is unavoidable-try not to make this a habit. Project management tools like Trello have helped to manage these sprints.
Having a Big Enough “Why” On rough mornings when the bed felt extra cozy, reminding myself why I was doing this got me up and going. My big “whys” included being more present for my family, accomplishing my big goals, and not wasting my limited productive hours. Find yours.
Creating the Right Environment To make my 5am ritual a true success, I had to treat those morning hours with intentionality. That meant clearing distractions by staying off email/social media, working in a quiet dedicated space, and eliminating things that could derail my focused flow state.
Being Imperfect
While consistency is ideal, I also had to have grace for myself when life inevitably got in the way. Whether due to sick kids, travel, or special events – there were days I slept in or had lighter mornings. Not beating myself up and just re-committing the next day was key.
The 5am ritual has been a game-changer for me. But it’s been incredibly rewarding to finally feel in control of my time and attention as an entrepreneur. Those first few hours of each day are pure magic for multiplying productivity and hitting my stride.
If you’ve struggled with distraction, lack of focus, and getting bogged down in the daily reactivity, I’d encourage you to give an early morning ritual a try. It could just unlock your own productivity superpowers.
Will waking up at 5am be easy at first? No. Will it require significant effort and commitment to overriding old habits? Absolutely. But the payoff in terms of your clarity, output, and sense of intentionality will be unlocked in profound ways.
Here is your challenge
You don’t have to go as extreme as 5am if that’s too difficult. But I challenge you to find at least 2-3 sacred morning hours where you can shelter your focus before the daily fires start. Use that time for meditation, thinking deeply about your motivations, creating, or executing on high-leverage tasks. Don’t let it get lost to emails and calls.
Treat those morning hours as you would any other important meeting or commitment. Protect them fiercely and expend your highest willpower early before decision fatigue sets in. You may be surprised at how much purpose and productivity you can pack into those first few hours.
For me, my 5am ritual has been a revelation in how I approach each day with intention rather than reaction. While the rest of the world descends into the chaos and noise, I’ve already grounded myself, mapped out my priorities, and made progress on meaningful goals.
It’s an energizing and rewarding way to start each morning. And it’s given me a superpower that I simply can’t imagine operating my business without. If you have big ambitions, an early morning ritual may be the framework you need to reclaim your focus and drive exponentially better results.
in Chicago. Incubated at