Waking up on Time

 I have some interesting thoughts to share about daily routine, specifically about time one wakes up. I find that waking up early gives me a new type of experience throughout the day, and generally leads to more productive days. In this section, I wish to share of my personal experiences related to waking up early, as well as some theorization upon why early days are more productive.

Though I haven't disciplined myself to wake up at the same time every day in the absence of compelling daily events such as school, I do have some brief experience in attempting to routinely wake up relatively early (before 8am) on such days. I remember a period in the spring of last year, 2020, when I wished to maximise my daily productivity, and to accomplish much throughout the day. I've seen some people who push themselves to the extreme, such as by making videos of themselves working for 8+ hours at a stretch. Even with scattered breaks in between, such a number is indeed impressive. I've also observed that such individuals tend to wake up early, insanely early sometimes, such as 3:30 in the morning.

There is a new and exciting element that about a change in lifestyle--about forming the habit of waking up early to study. It gives me a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction that I am committed to my studies. I, too, have observed that my waking hours, before 10AM, for example, are highly productive and generally free of much stimulation or distraction. Waking up early, and especially the change in environment that comes with it, often makes me feel too, that there is something new and different about the day, and it often inspires creativity within me, and pushes me to derive pleasure from new sources that I haven't explored before.

I hope to close off this section with a brief theory regarding why I feel that individuals tend to experience such higher productivity, creativity, and fulfillment in the morning. One theory I have is that the very act of waking up in the morning is inextricably intermingled with the notion of discipline and hard-work. The decision to move oneself from peaceful repose and dedicate oneself to study is one that often instills pride. Another theory is that waking up early creates time in our day; whereas the evening hours are less useful and impactful in our day, the morning hours are invaluable, and have a lasting impact on the day, especially if dedicated to study or productivity. The conclusion from this second theory is that the "created" time that comes with waking up early prevents the thought that our days are running away from us, and compels us to stick to study for a longer time before becoming distracted. A last theory that I'd like to present is the idea of relative clocks. This idea concerns the relation of our schedule and daily activity with relation to that of our peers. In this scenario, wake-up time becomes a sort of competition, where those who wake up earlier than the competition achieve a "headstart" in the day's activities, and for any given time when any two given individuals are awake, the one who has been awake longer has likely had a more productive day. This implies that waking up earlier serves as a form of competitive advantage, benefiting the early risers.

With that, I'll close off this section, and attempt to wake earlier in my life.