Almost once a year I re-read the book the 5 AM club by Robin Sharma. There is so much in it, it is all a bit quirky, funny, strange, and interesting, but I get a lot of value from it.
By nature, I am an early bird, and during some parts of the year, like the time I am writing this article for you, I am part of the 5 am club. Other times of the year or periods in life I am not, I might have caring responsibilities, be utterly exhausted or be binge-watching a series with my husband till later in the night.
Why am I part of the 5 am club?
I am part of the 5 am club because I feel better when I get up early.
Over time, I realised three things:
If I want to get up at 5 am, I need to go to bed on time; otherwise, it is an exercise in sleep deprivation (hence some periods I decide to skip the exercise).
It is my 5 am routine, not Robin Sharma’s or anyone else’s.
I like to take longer than an hour and slowly wake up, read, journal, go for a walk, make an amazing breakfast, grab a coffee, etc.
Taking longer in the morning and doing what I need to do for me is so valuable. It feels like I had an oxygen mask on to give me an extra boost that I can take throughout the day with me when caring and work responsibilities come up to take a toll on my time, energy and patience. Because of the 5 am club exercise, my cup is already filled with things I wanted to do before the rest of the world has woken up.
What Is the 5am Club?
The 5am club is a morning routine from Robin Sharma's book The 5 AM Club. The idea is to wake up at 5 am and spend the first hour on yourself before the rest of the day begins. Sharma's version is the 20/20/20 formula: 20 minutes of exercise, 20 minutes of reflection and 20 minutes of learning.
5am Club Rules: Why I Don't Follow the 20/20/20 Formula
Advice although meant very well and given from the heart (including on this website) is just that advice. I found that in order to wake up, I need to have something to look forward to.
Waking up to the 20/20/20 formula from the book (exercise, reflection and learning) didn’t work. As Sharma is suggesting, you are starting with 20 minutes of hard exercise straight away; this is not something I look forward to. Snuggling on the lounge with a coffee and a book, a trip to the beach or working on something on the computer for either: work, business, study or pleasure when I am fresh can also get me out of bed.
For me, I also rebel quite quickly against rules by others (sorry Robin Sharma, Tony Robbins, and Mel Robbins, your stuff is amazing) or myself, when you feel you have to – I quite quickly go “yeah nah”*). So having variety in each of my mornings and asking myself ‘why do I want to wake up early?’ does the trick.
*I recently became ‘cooler’ when my teenager taught me this cool expression yeah nah – having to explain in this manner probably means I lost all cool credits again, but there you go.
How the 5 am club relates to organising
I often talk about finding your energy levels for you in your days. For me, doing a lot of decluttering and organising in the afternoon is futile. I waste a lot of time and energy and I could do the same job in less than half the time in the morning.
Find out what your energy levels are like and use something either like the 5 am / 6 am or 11 pm club to get stuff done when you are an in peak state.
Some mornings I actually find myself wanting to organise things, aka I recently took the Christmas tree down early in the morning before the January heat in NSW was settling in.
Putting dishes away at night feels like a root canal; in the morning I gladly do it whilst waiting for my coffee to brew or cool down.
The moral of the 5 am club story?
Make sure that anything I or anyone else suggest it needs to suit you. It is your life, your home, and your stuff; you can make the final decisions – heck, you can make all the decisions.
Ready to organise your life, your way?
Organising Unpacked is a great starter book with simple steps you can fit
around your own routine.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The 5am club is a morning routine from Robin Sharma's book The 5 AM Club. You wake up at 5 am and use the first hour for exercise, reflection and learning before the day gets busy.
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No. It is your routine, so you can change it. I like to take longer, read, journal, go for a walk or have a slow breakfast. Having something to look forward to is what gets me out of bed.
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If your energy is best in the morning, you can get decluttering and organising jobs done in half the time. Find the time of day you have the most energy and use it for the jobs you put off.
