Remember Robin Sharma? He’s the genius behind The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning, Elevate Your Life. According to Robin, waking up at 5 AM gives you a massive advantage. You get quiet, uninterrupted time to focus on yourself before the rest of the world wakes up.
Ok.
He tells you to follow the 20/20/20 formula: move your body for 20 minutes, spend 20 minutes reflecting, and then 20 minutes learning or growing. All at 5 AM. In theory, it sounds amazing, right? I mean, who doesn’t want to dominate and conquer the world at 5 AM when everyone else is sound asleep?
I wanted to join this 5 AM club. It can’t be that hard.
This is me joining the 5 aM club
Before I drag you into the entire 5 AM club hell, let me preface by saying, it didn’t go well.
My first few mornings, I flew out of bed with piss and vinegar. I was determined to be successful and super productive (like Robin said!). By day 4, I could tell this wasn’t going to work out very well for me.
At around 2 pm, I was looking at my sofa and thinking, “oh, just a little nap”. What’s it gonna hurt? Day 5, 6 and 7, I was napping and feeling guilty about it. Shouldn’t I be working and dominating the world right now?
By day 8, I realized this was not for me. I’m just not a morning person. So, Robin, does this mean I’ll be a failure because I’m up at the same time the rest of the world is? Don’t answer that.
I was forcing myself to function and be productive
I found that I had to force myself to fit into this elite club and follow all the rules. None of it came naturally. I don’t do “fly out of bed, work out, reflect, and journal” at 5 AM. My brain rebelled. No amount of motivational quotes or perfectly planned morning routines could change that.
I was more like “slowly slip out of bed, make coffee, do some prayer meditations, look out the window at the SUN”. I wanted to do things slowly and more relaxed – not like I was under pressure to perform. Did that make me a loser and a failure?
Nope. It just made me who I am and reaffirmed I’m not a morning person. Well, I wasn’t until I got cats. More on that later.
Our circadian rhythms are different
So, here’s the thing. We all have different circadian rhythms. Some people really do well in the wee hours of the morning, aka stupid o’clock. They are alert, focused, and ready to take on the day.
Others, like me, come alive late afternoon, early evening. Those are peak performance hours for me. It’s when my brain is all fired up and ready to take on the world.
Science backs all this up.
Forcing myself to wake up at 5 AM and fly out of bed (and actually DO things) when my body clock is not wired for it felt like torture. It does not mean I was a failure; it just means that my biology has its own schedule. And I was ok with that.
Sorry, Robin.
New Research was recently done at my house with the 5 AM club
So, I got a cat.
Now, before you nod your head and say, “Well, I see where you’re going with this now!!”, you’re wrong. She chose me, that’s fine. I’m not a cat person. Whatever. She’s the best girl in the world. She lets me sleep; she never bothers me.
A year later, I thought she might need a friend because I’m boring AF and all I do is work all day. So, I got her a friend. This is when the fun began, and I rejoined the 5 AM club. Not because I wanted to, but because the new research claimed it was best for me.
According to this new research, 5 AM is perfect for zoomies, breakfast, chewing on my hair and poking my face. Actually, they think 4 AM is ideal but have decided to let me sleep until the sun is up (here in Guatemala, it’s up around 5-ish every day).
So thoughtful.
Robin Sharma got it right, if you’re a cat. Wake up early, move around, and grow (mostly in appetite and impatience).
I let them know who pays the bills and feeds them
My new cat, Gracie, is the mischievous one. The adult cat will let me sleep all day. I had to show Gracie who the boss of the house is and that we DO NOT get up at 5 AM. She didn’t care.
There is no snooze button when a paw is poking your cheek, there is a cat doing zoomies on your bed, or chewing your hair. All you can do is yell to stop it and pull the covers over your head. That works.
But let’s face it, when you’re up, you’re up. It’s hard to fall back asleep and sleep soundly.
So yes, technically, I guess I do belong to the 5 AM Club, again. But clearly, I didn’t get here through discipline or determination. I got here because Gracie took Robin Sharma’s advice to heart and decided I needed to follow it too.
does it work?
At the end of the day, the 5 AM Club can be powerful for those who are naturally inclined to early mornings. It gives you an uninterrupted pocket of time before the world starts demanding your attention, perfect for deep work, reflection, or getting a head start on your goals.
That kind of routine builds momentum, clears your head, and helps you feel in charge of your day instead of scrambling to catch up. If you want to learn more about it, you can check out the book here.
But if you’re not a morning person, like me, if your brain hates alarms, or if coffee isn’t enough to get you moving, don’t beat yourself up. Everyone has their own rhythm.
My rhythm just happens to include one sassy researcher who’s furry, making sure I’m up before the sun, and the constant battle between me, her and pulling the covers over my head. She may not be running seminars, but in my house, she’s the true 5 AM club champion.
xo iva xo
