I’m sure those of you who are night owls will immediately be turned off by this headline, but most research does show rising early contributes hugely to both your results in life and your health. Armed with those facts I recently decided to read “The 5am Club” by Robin Sharma. The fable details the story of an entrepreneur and an artist who learn the benefits of planning their day effectively from a business tycoon and his mentor. Through the story, diagrams and charts included, the book details how starting early and planning your day can deliver huge results across many areas of your life.
Starting at 5am can help rewire your thinking system and is an ideal time for maximizing the positive thoughts of the brain. The book touches on the concepts of Heartset, Healthset, Soulset and Mindset with Heartset encompassing emotional wellbeing and Healthset obviously the physical condition. Soulset focuses on your purpose and place in the world, and, of course, Mindset requires no explanation.
The book advocates the benefits of the 20/20/20 method to start your day off well. The 20/20/20 method allocates 20 minutes each to Movement (vigorous exercise), Reflection (gratitude and journaling as well as meditation) and Growth (reading and learning).
Early exercise has been shown to reduce cortisol, the hormone that causes stress and anxiety which can heighten on awakening. This explains why often troubles appear larger in the middle of the night if you’re not asleep. Although I wouldn’t suggest five minutes of calisthenics at 2am as a plausible way to nod off again, it can be highly effective first thing in the morning to help you overcome some of that anxiety that may be lurking.
Although primarily focused on an early start to the day, the book also has other suggestions on ways to maximize your results in life. The book is a big advocate of preparing for sleep correctly, including reducing the use of electronic devices in the evening. How you prepare for sleep will have an enormous impact on the sleep results you get once your head hits the pillow.
In addition to how you start the day, the book delves into the process of how to effectively work during the day. A productive day works best with 60 minutes of intense focused work with a 10-minute break to rest and recharge, walk around or deal with other issues such as fellow staff members or emails, etc. This process can then be rinsed and repeated.
With regards to long-term planning the suggested structure is what’s known as the 90/90/1 method – for the next 90 days schedule the first 90 minutes each day on the one task that will make the biggest impact on your results. Too often we are distracted attempting several tasks at once and achieve nothing as a result. This method allows you to determine your major outcome and to keep it top of mind until it is completed.
The book also talks about the need to tightly protect your five primary assets – mental focus, physical energy, personal willpower, original talent, and daily time. Use time wisely by taking the opportunity while commuting to listen, watch or read educational content rather than mindless social media or confrontational talkback. It’s crucial to protect what goes into your brain, particularly in this modern world where social media can encourage huge periods of time wasting and constant online outrage can have a negative effect on your mental wellbeing.
In addition to a 90-day focus, the book discusses the Daily 5 Concept, identifying the five achievements that would constitute a successful day. By defining this each morning, you can establish a quantifiable definition of success for the day ahead.
Contrary to the “old formula” that it takes 21 days to form a new habit the book instead advocates it will take 66 days to create a new habit. This consists of 22 days to destroy the old habit, 22 days to install the new one and 22 days to integrate it as part of the routine.
I’m not in the habit of preparing book reviews but I found this one to be particularly valuable, not only in terms of the message it had but the practical tools it provides to help you implement. For those without the time to read the full book, a summary version can also be read providing an overview of the key points. If you’re looking to improve results across various areas of your life, be sure to put it on your reading list.
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