How I Wake Up at 4:30 AM Every Day for 4 Years (My Miracle Morning Journey)

I've been waking up at 4 30 a.m every day since the spring of 2020 for the last four years. Before that, all my attempts to be a morning person had failed but this time it worked. It really felt like finding hidden treasures while the rest of the world was still sleeping. It's so soothing and peaceful. If you keep pressing the snooze button and falling back into your cozy bed, it's not because you're lazy. The real reason it's so hard to get out of bed is that you don't have a clear compelling reason to do so. Without this clear reason to wake up early, your mind will try to trick you into thinking upon waking up, why do I have to go through this? Is it really worth it? Let's go back to sleep. Hi my name is Liz. Today I want to share how and why I started waking up at 4 30 a.m and why all my previous attempts had failed, yet in 2020 it was somehow different. Throughout this video, I'll provide four of the most effective tips to help you consistently wake up early in the morning over the long term. The first tip, have a clear and specific reason to wake up. The most effective way to get out of bed early is to have a clear and compelling reason why you have to wake up early. To be honest, I had tried waking up early a few times before this but I failed repeatedly. I told myself in disappointment that I could never be a morning person. But this time in the spring of 2020, it finally worked. Why? Because I had a convincing reason to do so. I needed this undistracted morning time to learn and practice something I wanted to learn so badly. If you can answer yourself why you need to wake up in the morning and why you need this time so desperately, it will immensely help you to resist the urge to go back to sleep and make you even feel excited to get up and start the day. Without this reason, even if you force yourself out of bed for a day or two, you will soon feel bored and extra tired, likely returning to your default way of living. When I began my early morning journey four years ago, I wasn't in a good place. Working full-time with two young boys, I struggled with mild depression, uncertainty about the future, doubts about whether I was doing a good job as a mom, and constant worry and fear. Repeating those same days felt especially painful, leaving me overwhelmed and tired with a sense of directionlessness in my life. At the time, I often ended up on a couch holding my favorite Haagen-Dazs coffee ice cream and watching Netflix after a long day. During that time, I always wanted to learn calligraphy, but I kept telling myself that there was no time for it. So I decided to wake up early and use that quiet morning time to learn and practice calligraphy, where I could focus without any distractions. I remember going to bed with genuine excitement the night before, thinking about the calligraphy practice I was going to do, which pen to use, and what strokes to focus on. Having my own time without any distractions gave me the space to look inward, slow down, and focus on the present rather than being dragged by the rush of daytime responsibilities. This is how I spent my precious morning time after waking up. About 10 minutes waking up routine, such as drinking water and stretching. For about 30 minutes, I spent quiet time for bible scripture reading and prayer. In about 20 minutes, I handled my social media uploads and quick admin tasks like checking comments and emails. So usually between 530 to 7am, I have calligraphy practice time, which has also become my content creation time, as the process of practice itself becomes the content. And I try to wrap things up by 7am. I wake up the kids and help them get ready for school. Okay, we understand that we need compelling reasons to wake up early, but what kinds of reasons could they be? It could be something you've always wanted to learn, like my passion for calligraphy, or it could be a business goal that you've always wanted to achieve, or improving yourself to become the best version of yourself through exercise, journaling, or reading your favorite books. Whatever the reason for getting up early, or the goals you want to achieve, there are two crucial aspects that you need to ensure. Number one, your reason must be broken down into specific tasks that you will be doing the next morning, and it must be prepared the night before. For example, if your goal is to lose weight, it's more effective to write down the specific exercises and how long you'll be doing each exercise the night before, not in the morning. If this process of setting up specific tasks is not prepared the night before, you will most likely convince yourself to go back to sleep while trying to figure out what to do in the morning upon waking up. I usually write in my journal every evening before getting into bed. While doing so, I visualize every step of the task I want to complete the next morning like a rehearsal. Number two, your reason for waking up must be compelling enough to excite and motivate you for the next morning. Let's say you're going on a family trip tomorrow. No matter how early the flight is, in most cases, you won't have a problem waking up. The last thought you have before going to bed often plays a significant role in your ability to wake up the next morning. Another example is this. If you plan to run every morning, it's more effective to visualize the positive benefits of running rather than focusing on the activity itself. This is because when you wake up and realize it's still a bit dark outside, chilly, and uncomfortable, it's difficult to force yourself to take on another obligation in that condition. To make running in the morning something you desire to do rather than something you're obligated to do, it's better to focus on its benefits rather than seeing it as some responsibility. Visualize the and imagine how you will feel when you successfully run every morning. To make this process most effective, you must have a clear answer to why you want to do this. In other words, you have to enjoy the benefits of the result by manifesting it as much detail as you have already achieved it. Second tip, go to bed early. One of the concerns most people have is that waking up early will make them tired throughout the day and they worry that they won't have enough energy to do the things they need to do effectively. This is true if you continue waking up early but still keep the habit of going to bed late at night. Waking up early in the morning should not mean cutting down your sleep hours. This is so important that I can't stress enough, having less sleep to wake up early is like not eating to lose weight. It's crucial to get enough sleep daily to replenish your body and soul. This means if you want to utilize morning time for your future and benefits, make sure to go to bed early the night before. In essence, waking up early is not about decreasing your sleep hours, it's actually about shifting your daily schedule to be more effective and productive by cutting down what you do at night and adding something in the morning. For example, I wake up at 4 30 in the morning so I try to sleep at least by 10 pm. I also usually take a nap for about half an hour during the day since I stopped working full-time. Even now, it's still challenging for me to stick to my bedtime. We try to put the kids to bed no later than 9 30 but I'm always tempted to talk more with my husband since we only have 30 minutes to talk about our day. I used to watch Netflix with my husband before going to bed but I had to give that up to follow an early morning lifestyle. With that being said, some people say to me, you wake up at 4 30 am? You must have a very strong willpower. But I think for many people, it takes more willpower to say no to the things that they do at night than to wake up early in the morning. Then you might be asking, why can't I do those tasks to achieve my goals at night instead of in the morning without going through all the pain and struggle of waking up early? If you're more productive at night and don't feel the need to change your current schedule, then I don't think utilizing the morning time is the only way. However, for most people, morning time usually offers higher energy levels and better focus to improve yourself. Furthermore, I find that at night, it's more likely to get distracted by many temptations than in the morning. The third tip, have a helpful morning routine. What do you think is the best way to form a habit such as waking up early? Having strong willpower helps but it's much more effective when you have a system that works for you. There are many morning routines and strategies that you can use to help you wake up early, such as brushing your teeth, doing morning stretches, using wake up mission apps, or setting up an automatic light system. This is what I do when I wake up. As soon as I get out of bed, I drink a cup of water and take a probiotic pill. Then, I head down to my studio room and do some light stretching. After that, I start doing the things that I wake up early for. A morning wake up routine doesn't have to be complicated or overwhelming. I think it should be something simple enough with no friction and something that helps you gradually transition from your comfy bed. About a year after I began my morning journey, I started using an Apple Watch for alarm vibration. It has been incredibly helpful because I wanted an alarm that wouldn't disrupt my husband's sleep. This gentle vibration is enough to wake me up. If you sleep alone, I recommend putting your phone across the room so that you have to get up to turn it off. Or, you could use a morning mission alarm app that can help you fully wake up. Sometimes when it was challenging for me to wake up, I would intentionally pick up my phone and go on Instagram. Almost instantly and every time helped my brain to shift into a wake up mode. This is exactly why it's not recommended to look at your phone when you go to bed as it wakes your brain up instead of helping you fall asleep. I use this tactic of looking at the phone intentionally when I need an extra push to wake up. Among my morning routines, one of the most helpful ways that I recommend to fully wake up is to move from where you sleep, which is your bedroom, to another room or any other space. This is why having your own designated space to do what you plan to do in the morning can be incredibly helpful. As you move to that space, your body and mind become ready to do the things you set out to do. This is my haven. I practice calligraphy, make YouTube videos, create social media content, and do all the things I love to do here. Before we moved to our current house, there was no extra room that I could use. So I organized our old storage den and made a little space to put my small desk where I could practice calligraphy. It doesn't have to be a separate room. You can even set up your desk in the corner of the living room. Any designated space you could focus will do. The last tip, harness your desperation. When I ask my students or aspiring calligraphers about the biggest reason they skip practice, the number one answer is that they don't have time to do it. For most of us, life is already full and adding something more can seem impossible. I felt the same way. In year 2020, it seems that the only possible way for me to practice calligraphy and initiate change in my life was to wake up early. Sometimes, it's easier to make the hard decision when there's no other choices. When I started waking up early at the time, it was because the pain of not making significant change became greater than the pain of waking up early. Yes, waking up early is hard. But if it's the only way to initiate much needed change in your life, it becomes bearable. But after starting to utilize my morning time, many things have changed. I improved my calligraphy skills and built a small business around them. I became more confident, realizing I was more capable than I had thought. This boost in self-esteem empowered me to tackle new challenges and adventures. I grew spiritually through consistent quiet time and reading scripture. I became a happier mom and wife by giving myself me time for self-care. I believe that waking up early itself is not a goal, but rather an incredibly effective and proven method that can help you grow and mature as a Lastly, let me explain why 4.30. Does it have to be 4.30? I tried 4.30, 5, 5.30, but strangely, when I wake up at 4.30, I feel most energetic. I did some research, and the reason why waking up at 4.30 a.m. worked best for me had to do with what's called my body's circadian rhythms, also known as my internal body clock. Circadian rhythms are natural internal processes that regulate the sleep-wake cycle and repeat roughly every 24 hours. As it turns out, 4.30 a.m. is when I am in my light sleep phase, which means that I experience low sleep inertia, making it easier for me to get up than during deep sleep. By understanding and leveraging these aspects of your internal body clock, you can optimize your wake-up time for better energy levels and productivities. Try a couple of options, and when you find the time that works best for you, stick to it consistently so that your body can adjust to the new schedule. If you watched the video this far, you most likely have a desire to wake up early in the morning. Willpower is needed, but the right routine and system are more important. The most crucial aspect is to have a clear and compelling reason to do so. If you're desperate enough to seek change in your life and believe that you can utilize your morning time effectively, I'm sure you will succeed in becoming a morning person, just as I have. Thank you for watching. I'll see you in the next one. Bye!