if you're working full-time like i am it's hard to find time to write at the end of the day
you're tired you've depleted your creative energy but not only that by waiting until
you've finished everything else you've been carrying around this anxiety all day long i
hate that and you probably do as well it can make you resent all the other responsibilities you have
so to make sure i can get my words down with guilt-free energy i wake up an hour early each
day to write before we get into the details of my experience allow me to introduce myself my name is
elliot i'm a writer i'm currently working on novel and if you want to hear how that is going check
out this video here or in the description and if you're interested in following along on my journey
please subscribe now back to the current video here's what i could tell you about my experience
waking up an hour early to write get up 60 minutes 90 minutes or 110 minutes earlier when i say i
wake up an hour earlier i don't mean the break of dawn i used to get up at 8 am now i get up at 7 am
it's not that impressive when i say it like that but again it doesn't have to be a big deal
however if you're finding it hard to wake up 60 minutes earlier try getting up 90 or 110 minutes
earlier you might actually feel more refreshed the reason is that a sleep cycle is between 90
to 110 minutes long so by reducing your sleep you may actually wake up at the end of a cycle
instead of the middle when i write in the morning i write longhand for my job i'm going to be
spending my whole day in front of the computer in order to reduce my screen time especially first
thing in the morning i choose to write longhand i find that writing physically in a notebook gives
me a stronger connection with the words also when i'm at the computer it's too easy to hit
the delete key i'd be damned if i woke up early and i didn't get my words down by writing it on
paper and not being able to erase it i know that at the very least i've made my mark on the day
we are adaptable when i talk about waking up early i know what many of you are thinking but i'm not
a morning person fair i'm not a morning person either but i used to work the opening shift at
a starbucks that opened at 5 am which meant that i needed to be up by 3 30 and out the door by 4.
it was brutal but i adapted i got to work on time every shift i'm not superhuman i just
needed the money it was a job that job gave me evidence that i could wake up earlier if i had to
you've woken up early before you could do it again the more you do it the more you'll adapt to it
i will never be a morning person but i could certainly suck it up if it means taking advantage
of an optimal time to write i treat it like a job writing is not the first thing i do when i get up
when i say i wake up early to write you might think that i get up and go straight to writing
i don't i wake up and i do my morning routines first the ones i would do if i was heading
directly to work after i'd wake up get clean walk and feed my dog say hi to my wife make a cup of
coffee and then at last i sit down to write my point here is to find your own routine waking
up early doesn't mean you need to spend every extra moment you get to write it just means you
get a head start on the day a little bonus time before you're bombarded with other assignments
one morning won't make a big difference if you wake up early for one day and expect to
see significant results you'll be disappointed you won't get a lot in one hour but if you build
upon this habit the hours add up there are days where you'll wake up spend the hour writing crap
and be exactly where you were before don't be discouraged stick with the process yes you
could have slept in and achieved the same amount however if you wake up one hour earlier every day
then over the course of weeks and months you'll see that your good days will greatly increase
from there you'll gain momentum many writers talk about a morning routine
there is a reason why so many prefer it by getting writing checked off the list immediately we don't
carry that anxiety along with us all day we don't expend our energy on lower priority tasks
as writers we need to write and be creative so that the weights can be lifted some people
exercise first thing in the morning to release the tension and feel normal some need to write
it's not so much about productivity productivity is great but it's more about doing something for
yourself as early as possible you deserve days where you've written so make sure it happens thank
you for watching once again my name is elliot i make videos about writing and the creative process
if that interests you check out this playlist right here and don't forget to subscribe