The 5 am club: Mastering mornings with Robin Sharma
6 min read
Mornings can be a struggle for night owls like me. But according to Sharma, the author of “The 5 am club,” if you tackle your day before the sun, you’ve got the edge for extraordinary achievements. Sounded interesting to me, but I had one tiny (well, maybe not) problem. I look for that sweet snooze button on my phone literally every morning! So, naturally, the thought of waking up at 5 AM sounded just crazy. But if people like artists, royals, and big business names are taking Sharma’s advice, there’s got to be some truth to it, right?
So, I read the book and decided to challenge myself to wake up earlier for a month. Not 5 am, but.. Here’s my “5 am club” summary and what I learned from the whole experience.
Key principles of the “5 am club”
The book consists of 14 chapters. So, it was pretty hard to summarize all the advice in one short article. But I still managed to put together seven 5 am club key takeaways for you. I also added some apps that I used along the way. If you want to check them out, know that they all are available under a single subscription to Setapp. All are free to try for 7 days. Well, let’s get started.
1. Our brain power is limited
We can’t focus forever, and our energy doesn’t stay the same throughout the day. Mornings are known to be the best part of the day to concentrate. Maybe that’s the reason we got up to school so early. What’s interesting is that the ability to concentrate slowly fades by lunchtime. That’s why it’s so important to take advantage of those early hours.
The author breaks down the hour after waking up into three twenty-minute chunks. The first chunk is all about getting some exercise. It’s so rewarding for your body and mind. So, I had no problem doing it every morning.
The second one is for meditating or planning out the day. Well, there might be some difficulties, but I’ll show you what to do.
And the last chunk is dedicated to learning something new.
That’s what the 5 am club morning routine looks like. Doable?
2. Discipline is the key
Even someone who’s super talented won’t get far without some good old discipline. That’s what I struggled the most with when I was younger. What I understood with time is that It’s way better to make little progress every day toward a big goal than to try to accomplish everything all at once. After all, big empires don’t just pop up overnight or in a week, right?
3. Focusing can really help you get more done
Every day, we are faced with so many things that distract us and end up wasting our time. I noticed how often I spend hours scrolling through Instagram and watching others. Then what? Nothing! I did nothing, and it was time to cook lunch. So soon? Where did my morning go? What if we used that time to improve ourselves?
It’s time to block out those annoying distractions and put our energy into what really matters.
4. Becoming a pro takes time and hard work
Just know that no one becomes an expert overnight. Those who excel in their field have usually spent countless hours over the years perfecting their craft.
So, don’t expect quick results. If you don’t get it, you feel frustrated and rarely succeed.
5.Every mistake is an experience
When you talk about failures, don’t just call them mistakes. Think of them as experiences.
It’s okay to take chances and make mistakes. If something doesn’t work out, at least you learn what doesn’t work. Life is all about learning, so just stay open to new experiences and knowledge.
6. Waking up at 5 am isn’t the ultimate goal
The hard truth is that you could get up at 4 am every day and still end up wasting those precious hours. Remember, getting up early shouldn’t just be the point of it all. It’s all about how you use that time. Instead of just scrolling on your phone, make those early hours count with some good habits or productive activities.
7. Getting good sleep is super important
How well you wake up often depends on how you fall asleep. The light from screens can really mess with your ability to doze off quickly. So, it’s a good idea to ditch all electronics an hour or two before going to bed. Also, don’t forget to air out your room. For me, one of the best things to do before bed is to read a book.
Final thoughts
By the time I wrote this Robin Sharma’s 5 am club summary, I had already done an experiment with getting up earlier. And I have to say it was pretty tough! I didn’t get up as early as the author suggested, but I did manage to rise a bit earlier than usual. What I took away from the experience is how valuable the morning can be for focusing and avoiding procrastination. It really worked wonders, as I was able to tackle all my major tasks first thing.
By the way, check out my summary of “Eat that frog!” It’s definitely a great read for beating procrastination.
I also found a bunch of helpful apps along the way that kept me on track: Structured, Time Out, Focused Work, Noizio, Awesome Habits, and Diarly. They’re all free to try on Setapp for 7 days, so give them a shot and see for yourself how they make things easier.
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