Everybody told me that waking up at 5 am was the answer to all of life’s problems, and (un)fortunately, they were right. Waking up at 5:55 am, on weekends, in particular, is the best thing I’ve ever did
September 7, 2026
I’ve never been opposed to waking up early, to be fair, and have woken up between 5:00 am and 7:30 am consistently for years. Sleeping in, for me, usually looks like waking up at 8:00 am, occasionally at 8:30 am, and rarely at 9:00 am.
Even when I was in school, I took it upon myself to wake up an hour earlier than I needed to, just so I wouldn’t have to get up and get dressed as soon as I opened my eyes, and instead, could watch an hour’s worth of George Lopez reruns before having to start my day.
(Younger me was onto something, as current me is still carving out extra time for myself in the mornings and has learned that that is, for sure, the best possible thing that I could do for myself. See: A Look Into My Opening Hour and Watering the Garden of Me: A Look Into My Garden Hour)
But even still, the earliest time I’m willing to wake up in the morning usually fluctuates every couple of weeks. Previously, I’d have periods when I could wake up at 6:50 am just fine, and then periods when I could only drag myself out of bed at 7:30. Waking up any time before 6:30 was usually rare and short-lived.
So, this is the first time in quite some time that I’m waking up before then, and probably the first time I’ve ever committed myself to waking up at 5 for an extended period.
Well, not 5.
5:55, to be exact.
Because I used a sleep calculator to tell me what time I should wake up based on what time I go to sleep each night, to ensure I’m not waking up in the middle of a sleep cycle.
Not sure if the sleep calculators you can find online are actually accurate, but it’s working pretty well for me. I’m not sluggish in the morning, and I do feel well-rested, so…
Anyway.
I decided to finally attempt to be a 5 am girly for a significant period of time, and it’s working out incredibly well for me so far! I’m not waking up at 5:00 on the dot, but I don’t need to in order to achieve what I’ve been wanting to do.
Waking up at 5:55 everyday has allowed me to enjoy both my Opening Hour and Garden Hour, first thing each morning. Two hours dedicated to doing the things that help me regulate myself and engage with my hobbies before having to take care of responsibilities.
And it’s given me more time to squeeze in additional work or study (depending on the day), too!
My only goal was to gift myself with more time, and I’ve achieved it.
And while I’m probably making it sound way too simple right now, I can’t stress just how much this has completely changed and restructured my days for the absolute best.
It’s led me to be much calmer and less reactive because of the nervous system regulation I’ve been practicing during my morning routine. It’s allowed me to return to feeling like a human instead of a robot created just to work, since it’s given me the space and time I needed to be creative and enjoy my hobbies for the first time in years.
And it’s strengthened my self-trust – because I said I was going to wake up at 5:55 am every day for a month, including on weekends, no matter what. And I actually did it. And it was the first time in a while I proved to myself that I could trust myself to be consistent and keep my promises.
I think that’s the most important thing I’ve gotten from this whole experience.
Would I Continue Doing It?
I originally just wanted to commit myself to sticking with this for a month. Just to say I tried it out, just to say I stuck with it for as long as I said I would, and just to squeeze in a little more time to get more done during my busy January days.
Waking up at 5:55 am every day was just one of my daily tasks during the duration of my January sprint – which, side note, I love a good sprint, and I’ll have to write about that, too, one day – but I actually decided to incorporate it into my February sprint, too.
Why?
Not because I loved how much more productive I was able to be with more time in my day.
Not because I enjoyed my Opening Hour so much.
Not because waking up at this time made me feel immensely proud of myself and my consistency.
Not because waking up so early made the days seem to go by slower, instead of flying by at an alarming speed, which has genuinely been known to give me extreme anxiety in the past.
Sure, all of those things are perks, but none of them were what made me decide to wake up this early for a whole other month.
The reason I decided to stick with it through February – and likely the foreseeable future – is because waking up at 5:55 in the morning on weekends is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.
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