Early birds benefit from a jump start

Rise and shine to get those mundane tasks out of the way, freeing you up to deal with more important matters.

My dear friend starts her working day with big objectives. She plans to work on her postponed art exhibition and on several tasks at work that would advance her career.
She wakes an hour before her working hours begin and barely reaches the office on time. Before she knows it, her day has passed by with her checking and responding to countless emails and attending weekly meetings.
By the time she finishes work at 4.30pm, she is drained of energy with barely enough to drive back home, let alone work on her artwork pieces for her next exhibition or meet her friend who is planning her media activities.
Over a cup of coffee a couple of weeks ago, she complained to me she never finds time to think amid the workload, and how the only way she will ever find time to work on her art pieces is if she quits her job.
She then looked at me and asked how I managed to write, work on several community projects and manage my daytime job. My answer was simple: we all have time no matter how hectic our day is, but we might have to wake up extra early for it.
Besides writing every minute I get a chance to, I also love reading about success stories and finding out more about the ingredients that contributed to the triumphs of great achievers. And I found that what many of those successful people have in common is waking up earlier than their peers - at times when the rest are still dozing. That extra hour in the morning makes all the difference, and I experienced it first-hand. Over the past three years, it turned out that waking up an hour earlier, at 6am instead of 7am, was great for me to get the key tasks of my day over with. How is that?
When I reach my office at 7.10am instead of 8am, the time my work hours officially start, I am unlikely to be interrupted by an urgent meeting request, or disturbed by phone calls/emails, which gives me enough time to work on my next article, read a business journal that would help with my career or self-development, or draft some ideas for my community projects. And this has helped me a lot throughout my career, community service and professional life.
I also found I am more able to tackle difficult tasks early in the day when my brain and energy levels are still fresh. Research also highlights that brain energy and willpower are often consumed by the end of the working day, leaving us much less able to concentrate on other projects in the evening.
This makes the morning hours a prime time for us to strategise, plan ahead and work on important projects. An hour like this every day totals five hours a week of a fresh, sharp mind making a huge difference to one's life and career.
What else could be done during that time? Some of us are still trying to figure out what we want to do with our lives. Waking up an hour early is also great to brainstorm ideas and plan ahead. Perhaps you could read that management book you always wanted to and never had the time for, or schedule a meeting with inspirational people you went to school with who could assist you in finding out what to do with your life. In addition, you could get routine things out of the way such as paying your electricity and phone bills online, freeing up your day and mind to focus on more important things.
If you wait until the end of your day to plan your next project or work on your small business plan, you might never get around to it or not have the energy and willpower to do so. However, investing that hour early in the morning to develop your business, enhance your career or develop yourself could be the best investment of all. It is definitely worth giving up an hour of sleep for.
 
Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati writer and fashion designer