Do managers need to be in the 5am wakeup club?

Do you need to be an early riser, take ice baths and hustle?

Goood morning team happy Tuesday,

If you’re like me and follow loads of Linkedin or Instagram Leadership gurus, you’ll most likely be seeing those 5am, gym, smoothie, meditation routines.

This stuff can make you feel pretty crappy about yourself if you let it. 

But do Leaders NEED to be part of the 5am wake up club to be successful?

The time you wake up isn’t important.

Ice baths won’t change your life in isolation.

HOWEVER…

In a leadership position, you need to start taking discipline, your health (physical and mental), your personal routine and your boundaries VERY seriously. 

You’re undertaking one of the hardest roles in the working world, being responsible for other human beings. You need to build strong and healthy disciples for your own life before you impact that of others. 

Your own health HAS to be your number 1 priority… Above absolutely everything else.

And I mean everything. Work, kids, family, friends, holidays. 

Health is the only spinning plate in your life that, if it crashes to the ground, nothing else remains. 

I’ve built some small but mighty disciplines over the last 5 years, that aren’t quite the 5 am wakeup club, but are my little ways of ensuring I’m keeping a healthy body and mind, and giving you some strong foundations for your leadership role too.

1. Charge your phone in a room that isn’t your bedroom
   I’ve done this for years. It changed my life. The world won’t come crashing down if you don’t don’t  see the morning news or your instagram within 3 minutes of opening your eyes.
   Charge your phone in any room other than your bedroom, then go to bed 30 mins before you want to sleep, and spend those 30 mins either chatting to your Partner, OR reading a book (Fiction before bed, non-fiction in the morning). Your quality of sleep will improve hugely (along with your relationship).

2. Turning off the TV and go to bed earlier
   Our morning is made the night before. The more consistent we are with our sleep timings, the more likely we are to get great quality sleep.
   

3. 30 minutes of movement every day
   You don’t need to go to the gym and lift heavy weights 5 times a week to be physically fit. 30 mins is enough. Can you swap your drive to work for the bus and walk to the bus stop? Get on a great playlist and dance around your kitchen? Or even try a 20 minute youtube workout in your bedroom.
   For me, exercise is a reward, never a punishment. And I will try to make the most of that every day that I can.
   

4. Make your bed
   I thought this one was a given after the age of about 17, but after speaking to my mates at work, I was surprised how few people actually do this every morning. A National Sleep Foundation poll found that participants who reported regularly making their bed were 19% more likely to say that they got a good night's sleep most nights because their brain felt ‘organised’. Just make your bed.

To conclude, you don’t need to wake up at 5am

But you do need to start taking your own personal habits very seriously. For the sake of your mind, body, and ultimately the success of your team.

What time to do sleep/wake? And how does it impact your life? Let me know in the comments

Peace,

Heather