Are EARLY RISERS MORE SUCCESSFUL than those who sleep in?

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Are EARLY RISERS MORE SUCCESSFUL than those who sleep in?

Shiloh LundahlPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Gilbert, AZ · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes

Admittedly, I am naturally an early riser. I naturally wake up at about 5 AM without the need for an alarm clock. This is haw I’ve been since I can remember.  I have read several books such as The Miracle Morning and others that talk about how successful people wake up early in the morning.  Benjamin Franklin also taught the same concept with his “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise” quote. 

So hearing all of this reinforces to me the importance of waking up early to be successful. It does this to the point that I get bothered/annoyed/frustrated with people when they sleep in and waste away their morning. Now, my wife says that it is not true. In her opinion, waking up early has no correlation between being successful or not being successful. So I wanted to open this question up to the BP community. What has your experience been? Do the people you know in your life who are successful wake up early (say before 6 AM or earlier) or do they wake up later?

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Mike Dymski
Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2016 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
7y

When I was single, waking up early did not matter.  There was plenty of time to work 60+ hours, exercise, manage real estate, and have a social life...it was easy.  With a wife and kids though, getting started on critical tasks early and priming the day is essential for my mindset and success.  It's also a common thread among successful entrepreneurs and executives.

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  • Jon Segura
    Rental Property Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2018 · 42 posts · 9 votes
    7y

    i personally wake up at 5:30am - work out - meditate and off to the office by 945am. I like to think that people waking up early means it might bring you more success then the average person that wakes up at 730 or 8am. 

    0Reply
  • Omar Khan
    Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Shiloh Lundahl:

    Admittedly, I am naturally an early riser. I naturally wake up at about 5 AM without the need for an alarm clock. This is haw I’ve been since I can remember.  I have read several books such as The Miracle Morning and others that talk about how successful people wake up early in the morning.  Benjamin Franklin also taught the same concept with his “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise” quote. 

    So hearing all of this reinforces to me the importance of waking up early to be successful. It does this to the point that I get bothered/annoyed/frustrated with people when they sleep in and waste away their morning. Now, my wife says that it is not true. In her opinion, waking up early has no correlation between being successful or not being successful. So I wanted to open this question up to the BP community. What has your experience been? Do the people you know in your life who are successful wake up early (say before 6 AM or earlier) or do they wake up later?

    Time is an artificial construct. Plus, we live in a 24/7 world. It all depends on what you do and how you've structured your life. Slackers are slackers even if they get up at 5am, winners will be winners even if they get up at noon. 

    Believe this is antiquated notion that stems from the "early to bed, early to rise" sort of philosophy from generations ago. 

    Some of the most successful people I know are in sales. I have yet to see any one of those guys roll out of bed before 9. 

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  • Theresa HarrisPro Member
    Member since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    7y

    I think it is more important what you do with your time, and that you get the right amount of sleep for you to function at your best.  Some people work best first thing in the morning and others are night owls.

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  • Tanner Marsey
    Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2017 · 439 posts · 578 votes
    7y

    24 hours in a day. It’s all about how you utilize them. Not when you utilize them. Some industry/business requires you to be up early. Especially financial stuff where time zones become an issue. Plenty of late risers/night owls that are successful you just don’t hear from them because it isn’t cool to say “yeah, slept in until 10:30am again today”. It’s all about “hustle” and “grind” and whatever other words gurus and Internet personalities are throwing around right now. For some reason lack of sleep and getting up early have become glorified. That said, my w2 requires me to be a very early riser. Work days have me up at 0330. Still not “successful”

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  • Daniel HymanBusiness Member
    CPA · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    Having kids is a great way to help with an early start. 

    Mine are up and ready to play at 6:30am. I have to wake up at 5:30am to get a head start on them. 

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  • Dustin P.
    Realtor · Tempe, AZ · Member since 2017 · 541 posts · 442 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Ron Gallagher:

    Early risers might be more successful then night owls, but us night owls certainly have more fun.  Nothing exciting usually happens before midnight most days.

     A guy in my office usually says, "The early bid may get the worm, but the night owl eats whatever he wants!"

    He's pretty successful too

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  • Ethan Bazarganfard
    Lender · Woodland Hills, CA · Member since 2017 · 12 posts · 3 votes
    7y

    I think this all comes down to the context and lifestyle of that person. Being an early riser when you are balancing lots of moving parts in your life (i.e. family, multiple income streams, gym, school, hobbies, leisure, etc). The need to execute so many tasks in a given day will determine how many hours a day you need, and often times, to do it all - you HAVE to be an early riser. 

    In my opinion, and this is just from personal experience, the earlier I wake up, the more I get done. I think it has something to do with the psychology behind waking up earlier. 

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  • Brie SchmidtBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    7y

    I have set an alarm once in the last 3 years, only because I had jury duty.  I let my body wake up naturally when it needs to get up, usually 7am - 8am and am fully rested and ready to take on the day

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  • Alexander FelicePro Member
    Guy with Great Hair · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    7y

    Since I'm on the east coast I find it most useful to wake up at 6am and start answering emails/making phone calls. 

    This is because all my business is on the East coast, so 6am my time is 9am their time. I get time zone arbitrage ;) 

    Small tricks aside, everyone has the same 24 hours. How you most efficiently use that time is far more important than if you wake up at 5am and waste it versus someone who wakes up at 10 and CRUSHES the day. 

    Just because Hal Elrod got rich by telling people to wake up early doesn't make it true. If that were the case every military soldier would be rolling in piles of cash 

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  • Tony Gunter
    Investor · Canton, GA · Member since 2014 · 728 posts · 500 votes
    7y

    Probably a piece of the puzzle for most people. Be effective with the time you have is another. Persistence, trial and error, etc. as well.

    IMHO, “success” always involves a custom solution for each individual’s journey. Individual success has never appeared cookie cutter in my observations anyway.

    0Reply
  • Aaron Taylor
    Olathe, KS · Member since 2018 · 148 posts · 207 votes
    7y

    In my corporate career I haven't seen very much correlation between getting to work early or later EXCEPT for those who arrive at work significantly later than others...their production is definitely lower than others typically.  The irony is that on occasion some upper level bosses have thought that employee was 'going the extra mile' when really they were there by themselves because they got to work 90 minutes after everyone else, lol.

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  • Derek Dombeck
    Real Estate Consultant · Wittenberg, WI · Member since 2014 · 572 posts · 572 votes
    7y

    @Shiloh Lundahl

    I think it's about the mentality of what you are trying to accomplish. Years ago, when I had a job, I dreaded the alarm clock because it meant I had to go somewhere I didn't want to be. Now, I can't remember the last time I used an alarm clock. I naturally wake up after 5 to 6 hours of sleep and I'm ready to get something accomplished. Sometimes, it's 4 am and my mind is jacked up with an exciting deal going on and I jump out of bed like it is Christmas morning. As it's been said, If you are doing something you love, it is never work.

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  • Dolly Dabiri
    Member since 2018 · 3 posts · 2 votes
    7y

    I really think it is more about making good use of your time. If you are a productive person naturally, then having more hours in the day is an absolute plus. However being awake by itself is not enough. Miracle mornings changed my whole mindset.

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  • Khoa P.
    Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 18 posts · 16 votes
    7y

    I personally wake up at 5am every morning without an alarm clock.  My morning ritual includes meditating, exercising, and tackling the hardest decisions of the day.  I do this in the morning because it is when I have the most brainpower and the least amount of distractions.  I started this after I read the Miracle Morning and discovered many other successful people follow the same schedule.  It works for me!

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  • Matt M.
    Specialist · Easton, PA · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y

    I am up at 6, leave at 7, get home around 4, and days like today go back to work after dinner (contractor). It’s now almost 9pm and the wife wants me home but I tend to get a second wind and can work until I can’t function..

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  • Dennis M.
    Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    7y

    Up at 3:30 every morning . Get to bed at ten . I’ve always been a morning person

    0Reply
  • Isaac Johnson
    Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2019 · 129 posts · 138 votes
    7y

    @Shiloh Lundahl yes

    0Reply
  • Alvin Sylvain
    Los Angeles · Member since 2018 · 466 posts · 471 votes
    7y

    Some of us are Early Birds. Some of us are Night Owls.

    Say what you want about which one is going to be successful, I will tell you this -- one of the worst mistakes you can make is force yourself to be the wrong one. If you're an Early Bird, by all means, get up early, get things done while the rest of us snooze. But if you're a Night Owl, certainly feel free to sleep in as much as you need, then get things done during the moonlight hours.

    If you're a Night Owl trying to get up before the Sun does, you're doomed to failure. If you're an Early Bird, you're probably up before the Sun anyways, so waiting for the Evening before starting is equally doomed.

    My advice is, pick a habit that suits you and stick with it.

    1Reply
  • Renuka Khokale
    Cumming, GA · Member since 2018 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    @Ivan Barratt

    But the early worm gets eaten by the bird...so not so much in the interests of the worm to be early 😃

    1Reply
  • Lydia Woods
    Realtor · Baton Rouge, LA · Member since 2017 · 45 posts · 8 votes
    7y

    @Shiloh Lundahl I wake up early at 5:50am I just find I get more things and way more focused. Also I don’t like feeling like I wasted a day by sleeping late. All successful may not wake up early. But the first hour when you wake up is critical. That’s what keep you on track whether it’s working out, meditation, etc.

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  • Duncan Hayes
    Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2019 · 229 posts · 229 votes
    7y

    @Tracy Selfridge I agree. Doesn’t matter who has more time, it’s Who uses the time the most efficiently.

    2Reply
  • Nichole Stohler
    Rental Property Investor · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2017 · 116 posts · 136 votes
    7y

    @Shiloh Lundahl, I think we've traded a few emails early in the morning!

    @Danielle Wolter, we could have our own chat session at 3am!  I'm West coast too and up at that time.

    I read Miracle Morning as well and agree with others that it's more about establishing good productivity habits.  I'm in Tech so I love systems and processes.  Creating an early morning productivity process has worked for me ever since college.    I think it's mostly about the lack of distractions at that time in the morning.

    I don't follow the book's recommended steps.   My own process is to work on my podcast early in the morning, work out and take my dogs for a walk...

    1Reply
  • Ian WalshBusiness Member
    Lender · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    It depends what you get accomplished with the hours you have.  Concentrated effort in how much a billionaire can achieve in an hour vs a millionare.  

    0Reply
  • George W.
    Investor · NJ · Member since 2018 · 869 posts · 921 votes
    7y

    The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. I wake up at 5:30 everyday to get done with work early. I think that success comes down to the person though, not the time of day they wake up. 

    I've met plenty of people who live productive successful lives that sleep in much later than I would. 

    1Reply
  • Dennis Cosgrave
    Rental Property Investor · Member since 2019 · 304 posts · 462 votes
    7y

    I have always been a night owl. When I was in college, I scheduled all my classes, or at least as many as I could, after 11 am. I do my best work late at night when everything is quiet and I have no distractions. After college, I got a job and I had to be there at 9 am. I always found that a chore. I later got a job with flex hours so I would start at 11 am and work through to 7 pm or later depending on what needed to be done. This was great because I could avoid rush hour traffic and I could use my time more productively. 

    I think there is no hard and fast rule. Different strokes for different folks, as they say. Do what works best for you and your own bio clock. 

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