Crisp breeze wakens day.
A breath. A beat. A stir. alive,
I welcome prospect.
-Kaylin, 206
You look out the window and imagine that you’re the only person in the world. No-one is asking anything of you or telling you what to be, the noise of life has not yet awakened to disrupt your mind or drag your heart away from peacefulness towards some obligation. This dawn is all yours, all you. It is a gift that you and your craft deserve.
We are all about this life around here (most days… some… like, a fair amount). When you have a craving for clarity and still spaces which enliven the soul, dawn is bae. Knowing this, a client gifted us The 5am Club by Robin Sharma. The book helps define what it is about starting your day at 5am that feels so good. We harmonised some of Sharma’s wisdom with some of our own for these insights into why you should join the 5am Writer’s Club. And by writer we actually mean whatever your craft is.
Persona in the Practice
The sweet spot we all want to hit as a creator is when you’re doing it for the practice rather than the outcome. When you wake up at 5am to work on your craft, it’s of course going to do wonders for the progression of the craft itself; but what’s of even more value is how it starts to shape your self image, which in turn affects your life positively. Sharma says “it gives you an enormous psychological edge while the rest of the world is asleep.” When you create the time and space to work on something important to you, you have created an investment in yourself that increases your value. When sense of self worth is improved, so is your work. “Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you,” says Sharma.
Commitment
There is one difference between the artist who creates art and impacts the world through their work, and the seeker who seems to be slamming their head against a brick wall trying to express something. The difference is commitment. Taking advantage of the early hours to work on your craft shows a commitment to it that will only pay off.
Peace & Clarity
“5am is the time of least distraction, highest human glory and greatest peace,” says Sharma. There is a poetic sensibility in us all, and if given the opportunity this aspect of us which is part of being human, can show us depths of wisdom and creativity beyond what we thought we were capable of. Distraction is the biggest killer of creativity, and clarity. If you’re going to make use of the peaceful hour, make sure it’s peaceful for you- keep your phone on flight mode, try not to go onto the internet at all.
The 206 Way
Sharma’s 5am club is based on what he calls 20/20/20:
5:00-5:20- Exercise
5:20-5:40- Daily review, journaling
5:40- 6:00- Learn
After dragging yourself to the other side of the room to put the alarm off and managing to make coffee with eyes closed, our 5am club is more open to fluidity and focused on dedicating the time to a specific activity you wish to grow in, whatever it may be. Take the first 15 minutes to perhaps meditate and do a free write, and from there spend an hour working- even if it’s not on a specific project and just small things to improve your skills.
However you choose to spend the hour, simply being awake and present in this time does wonders for the imagination and should be tried by every creative!