The 4 a.m. club is bullshit.
After driving myself silly chasing other people's "perfect" morning routines, I learned something crucial:
The best morning routine is the one you'll actually do. Most productivity gurus tell you to wake up before 5 a.m., meditate for an hour, and journal your way to success.
Wrong.
Unless it's right for you.
People are so obsessed with what other "successful" people do (or did) in the morning:
- Nikola Tesla started mornings with toe flexes: 100 reps per toe "to stimulate brain cells."
- Ludwig van Beethoven made exactly 60 beans of coffee every morning, counted individually by hand.
- Immanuel Kant woke up at 5 a.m. without fail, ate exactly one boiled egg, and smoked a pipe while thinking.
- Naval Ravikant no phone or social media in the first hour.
- Howard Schultz walks dogs + exercises, then drinks coffee with his wife before work.
And perhaps my favorite,
Charles Darwin:
- 7 a.m.: Breakfast, followed by 90 minutes of focused scientific work.
- Mid-morning walk with his dog, then more writing.
- Believed in bursts of deep work, followed by total rest.
Or our collective least favorite,
which you've likely already seen: fitness influencer Ashton Hall's 6-hour morning routine, which went viral this past week for its absurdity, length, and lack of effectiveness.
And while it's fun to learn about these details…These people are not you.
Only you know what you need, what you're personally dealing with, what works for you, AND what you have to accomplish based on your current state of life.
The worst morning routine is the one that wasn't made for you. I've found that it's essential for me to shift my morning routine based on my current top goals.
Today, since I'm in a building phase (as opposed to the established phase where I've been before), the most important thing I can do is wake up without an alarm and get to work as fast as possible without ANY distractions. That means no phone, email, news, etc.
And while I believe this is a highly productive strategy, there will likely be a time in the near future when my mornings are once again centered more on reading, walking and reflection.
But, not now! I have too much shit to build that I'm excited about.
There is no doubt in my mind that the first few hours of your day have an outsized impact on the outcome of your life.
After decades of trial & error, this is what I've found that actually works FOR ME. (Not saying it'll work for you—you gotta' discover that yourself.)
⏰ Step 1: Wake Up Without an Alarm (Or As Close As You Can Get)
Your
brain's most crucial repair happens in the last stage of sleep. When you force yourself awake with an alarm, you might be cutting that recovery short, leading to neurodegeneration later in life.
Instead of fixating on a specific wake-up time, focus on
getting enough high-quality sleep. - Go to bed early enough that you can wake up naturally (I'm typically in bed by 9:30 p.m. and wake up between 5 and 6 a.m.).
- Give yourself a buffer in the morning so your body gets the sleep it needs (for me, this means leaving my calendar empty until 7 a.m.…also makes me feel great when I'm at my desk before this time of day).
If you have young kids or early meetings, waking up without an alarm might not be possible every day—though I'd still aim for it by going to bed earlier and setting an alarm as a "just in case."
📱 Step 2: No Phone for First 2 Hours of Day
I agree with Naval Ravikant on this one. Your phone isn't just
stealing your time—it's
rewiring your brain for short-term dopamine hits, destroying your productivity and peace of mind.
This one change can have a larger impact on the value you create—and the peace you feel—during your mornings than just about anything else.
Here's what actually works for me: - 🚫 No phone for 2 hours after waking up
- 🚫 No social media until noon
- 🚫 All notifications permanently off
- 🚫 Phone stays in another room (or a box) while working
Whenever I'm feeling "off", overwhelmed, or anxious, this is the habit I come back to. The less time I spend on and near my phone, the more effective and happy I am.
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