Early Mornings

I'm not a morning person. In fact, for large parts of my life I've felt mostly allergic to mornings. I would much rather sleep in and work late. I often feel a little nauseated in the mornings, breakfast is my least favorite meal of the day, and it's cold early in the morning. I just don't like mornings, but I have been able to find value in them.

Early morning brings with it a vast array of benefits that can't be obtained anywhere else throughout the day. As much as I dislike mornings, I like benefits, and I like benefits enough to endure early mornings. Consider all the benefits associated with early mornings:

If you're the first one up, you have a head start on everyone else.
It's quiet early in the morning.
You can get a lot of stuff done before the hustle and bustle of the day begins.
You can actually focus on what you're doing without distraction.
Chances are, you're sharper early in the morning.
If you can tolerate it, you can actually eat nice breakfast foods (a skill that I've only recently acquired).

I travel a lot, and I often see people early in the morning at airports, coffee shops, and a whole host of other places. You can always tell how a person's day will unfold by their morning demeanor.

Early mornings set the tone and mood for our days. If we're grumpy, hung over, sluggish, or generally disagreeable, it's much more likely that we're going to be grumpy, miserable, behind schedule, and generally disagreeable throughout the rest of the day. If we instead use early mornings as a time to hit the reset button, get a jump on the rest of the world, and take advantage of early morning benefits, it provides us with the best opportunity to enjoy a fruitful and productive day.

What time did you get up this morning?