Why You Need to Stop Trying to Be a Morning Person

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I will admit it. I am not naturally a morning person. And if I had my way, most of the professional world would join me.

My distaste for the cult of morningism isn’t just that it can rob people of sleep, put them at physical risk and conflict with scientific variations in circadian rhythms — I’ve already written about those issues many times. It’s also that we don’t seem to comprehend that much of what happens in the wee hours is important based the sequence, not when the sequence occurs.

Replacing tasks with self-care

Some wildly successful individuals get up early so they can tackle tasks before getting to the office, such as email. But if you set aside the ego and let go of the idea you personally have to manage it all, then you’ll find that many of these jobs can be solved either through technology (e.g., carefully selected filters), delegation, or better identification, prioritization and follow-through of real priorities.

When successful people use these options well, they often then use the early morning hours not for work, but to focus on self-care activities, such as going for a nice walk, getting in a workout, calling a loved one or sitting down to a balanced breakfast. These activities can get…