Why I Stopped Trying to be Productive at 6AM

I used to pressure myself, nonstop, to wake up at 6 AM because every "successful" person online said that's what grown adults do. According to the adults online, if you weren't up before sunrise, writing in your journal, and drinking a green smoothie, your life was basically a failure waiting to happen. I believed what the adults online said. I became miserable, not understanding why waking up early didn't transform me into a hyper glowing version of myself.

Want the truth? I'm absolutely not a morning person, never have been. Even as a child, I would have to drag myself out of bed. Once adulthood hit, self improvement content creators all over the internet wrapped their fingers around my brain. The blogs I read, the videos I watched had me convincing myself that I could force myself to be a morning person, that I need to force myself to be a morning person.

Every morning at the ripe time of 6 AM, I would yank myself out of bed, exhausted before the day even began. My alarm would go off and instead of feeling refreshed, motivated, and ready for the day, I felt like i was being punished, punishing myself. I woke up with foggy thoughts, feeling irritable, and annoyed at everything. I was telling myself this was self growth, that this will give me ambition but honestly I think it was just self sabotage.

After getting out of bed, I would stumble around my room, angry that I have none of the energy that those content creators promised. The early mornings were supposed to be peaceful and life changing. All I felt was drained, feeling like I was behind on sleep, productivity and the success that everyone online seemed to have.

One morning, I turned my alarm off and instead of dragging myself out of bed I asked myself a question. The question I shouldve been asking myself all along. What if I listened to what my own body wants rather than what the content creators do for their morning routine? I think this was an honest question to ask myself.

I allowed myself to answer the question. I realized that waking up this early was not making me productive, it was making me resent being productive. Most importantly I came to the realization that I wasn't the problem. I was trying to make a schedule work that simply was not meant for my life, my energy levels, or my brain.

So I stopped, I just let myself sleep. I let myself wake up when my internal alarm told me too, when my body was ready. I usually ended up waking up around 8 or 9 AM instead of 6 AM. At first, I felt guilty, waking up this late is wrong. I was believing waking up this late in the morning makes me lazy, irresponsible, and immature. Gradually the guilt went away, as my energy replenished, my energy had returned in ways I haven't felt in months.

Some how my mornings started feeling lighter, I didn't have to drag myself out of bed or through my day. I was getting out of bed fully awake, with clear thoughts. I felt more calm, more focused, I could breathe without the heavy thoughts of being a failure weighing on my shoulders.

It may seem ironic but I felt more productive. I wasn't feeling productive because I woke up early, I felt this way because I had the energy to be productive. My energy was no longer forced by adrenaline or caffeine. My daily activities didn't feel like mountains that I needed to climb, I could function without fighting myself.

It finally hit me, the real secret to self improvement, growth and success isn't based off of copying some strangers daily routine. The secret is within listening to your body and what works for you. Trends are constantly changing, but your mind and your body stay with you for life.

I stopped waking up at 6 AM because I finally realized I didn't need to become a different person to become successful. I needed to stop abandoning what my body and mind was telling me. Now, i wake up later, start my day slower. Everything in my life feels more stable, I feel happy within myself.

Listening to myself turned out to be the most productive thing I have ever done, and I refuse to change based on other peoples routines again.