By Younas Chaudhary
In my childhood years living in a village in Pakistan, roosters woke me up early in the morning with their loud morning calls and so did the muezzin, the person who proclaimed the morning call to prayer. He would climb on top of our village mosque and make the adhan, the announcement for the morning prayer. In those days there were no loudspeakers but his call to prayer would be so loud and clear that I would wake up just before the crack of dawn.
I became a morning person growing up in a village bound by agricultural seasons and our survival depended on crops. Farmers left their homes early in the morning and got their plowing started with bulls and other manual forms of labor. By noon, they were back home so that they could escape the intense heat. Amid this, I grew up as a morning person woken up by roosters, listening to the call of the muezzin, and knowing well that the economics of our livelihood depended on being early risers.
The saying “early bird catches the worm” became a lifelong habit for me especially after I joined the Pakistan Military Academy in my teenage years and the discipline there made me a morning person forever!
What are the benefits of being a morning person? There are several science-backed studies that say a morning person is proactive, happy, exercises consistently, thinks long-term, is thinner and even drives safer! I can tell you from my personal experience, that I have been most productive waking up every day around 5 am to 6 am. The mornings give me a positive outlook and help me plan my day. For almost four decades, I was usually the first one to arrive at the office at around 7 am. I did this task consistently and with discipline.
Being a morning person has given me quality time in my personal life too. I would share my thoughts and bounce off ideas about overall life and business with my wife. This continued until she got diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. These days, if I have decisions to make, I write down my thoughts or even talk to myself shortly after waking up and this has helped me tremendously.
My mornings begin with a task list of what I need to accomplish that day and week. They are short bullet points and I delegate those responsibilities to co-workers as needed. Since I am not a meetings person and I seldom have staff meetings, these notes that I regularly share clearly explain tasks and goals that need to get done.
I walk regularly for around 30 to 45 minutes most mornings, read the daily newspaper (the old-fashioned way), and eat a healthy breakfast every day. I am amazed at today’s generation that wakes up and spends their mornings in line at coffee shops instead of making and having a healthy breakfast at home.
Each one of us should develop a good habit to wake up early in the mornings. In my life being a morning person has helped me develop consistent positive results that I carry to this day. Blessings!
Disclaimer
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated. Further, I make no warranty regarding the accuracy or effectiveness of my recommendations, and readers are advised to consult other advisors as well as their own judgments in making business decisions.
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