5 Tips To Create Your Own 5AM Focus Flow

I’m writing a book.

I got a book deal in May last year, and since then I’ve dragged myself out of bed at 5am, Monday through Friday, to meet the publisher’s deadline.

I grind my coffee the night before and tip toe down the stairs to try to maintain the peace and quiet that the early morning is so good at. 

My daughter’s “blue light,” which indicates it is ok for her to get out of bed, turns on at 7am. If all goes as planned, this gives me two hours to myself. Two hours to get my thoughts down before the whirlwind of the day begins.

Initially I set a goal of writing 500 words a day. The next morning I would wake up and reread what I wrote the day before. Some days I was proud of what I wrote, other days, when I reread the content, 490 of the 500 words were gibberish that was promptly deleted. 

Eventually I looked up and had 50,000 words. As of today, I’m 241 weekdays in, and am putting on the finishing touches before sending it to the editor.

I’m excited about the ideas I’ve written so far. There aren’t many things that I’ve had the discipline to hold onto for this long before releasing into the world. I tend to be a ready, fire, aim type of guy, so this is all new to me.

Book project aside, giving myself a block of time in the morning to write has turned into such a gift. I leave all of the lights off and put my screen into dark mode. I notice my neighbors bedroom lights turn on as they start to wake up. 

But mostly I think. 

Thinking instead of reacting is more precious than ever as our busied lives continue to get optimized.

My hope is that the book I’m writing ends up a New York Times Best Seller that influences a generation to demand more from their work life, but the truth of the matter is most books, like over 99.9% of books, end up selling only a handful of copies. Chances are mine will have a similar fate.

No matter the result, I know my mom will try her best to read it. But more important than that, sorry mom, is this time to myself.

Once I’m done with this book I plan to keep waking up at 5am to work on another long term project. 

I’m not sure what it will be quite yet, but in the early morning my brain works differently, and later on, when I do get to the whirlwind of email, meetings, and non-stop moving, I find it comforting to know I’ve already put in two solid hours of deep work.

I hope you find your own way to do work that is meaningful to you. If you want to try out the early morning, here are a few tips.

Five Tips to Create Your Own Five AM Focus Flow

🗓️ Pick a project that will take weeks or months to complete, not days. And work on it every day. There is something special about building something on your own over time, that only you have access to, and watching it compound. 

🛌 Go to bed early. I shoot for 930, which gives me 7.5 hours of sleep if all goes as planned. 

🪟 Same time, same spot (ideally by a window), same routine. As much as possible keep everything the same. Prep your coffee the night before so all you have to do is hit the button, leave your computer right where you want it to be when you wake up. 

🍽️ Don’t eat. Only do the thing you are waking up early to do.

⏳ When you get stuck be ok with staying stuck. Don’t open a new tab on your browser, don’t bring your phone with you, and definitely don’t check your email.