What Are You Doing at 5:00 am?

I heard a comment that if you want to talk to business leaders call them at 5 am because they are already awake. If you are like many, you wake up in the pre-dawn hours worrying about the things that you can’t control. There is something at that time of the morning where we are the most anxious, and negative. We agonizingly criticize our performance, worry about what he haven’t done, and torment ourselves about the unknown. I know because I am expert at this. In fact, I carry a laminated reminder card that my wife gave me years ago that has this saying….”Worry is the misuse of your imagination.” How right she is and how valuable that lesson has become for me.

I recently read a few blog posts from experts about what successful people do before 8 am, and here is what struck me as useful. 90% of executives wake-up before 6 am and the wise have dedicated their first hour to planning their day, organizing for maximum efficiency, and spend time on big picture thinking. Many dedicate that hour to work exclusively on a big project that their daily whirlwind keeps them from doing.

So, instead of rolling around in bed like a rotisserie chicken at 5 am, plan your day out the night before, and be prepared to get up and take advantage of the clearest thinking and most productive time slot in your day.