The Benefits of Waking Up Early: 3 Ways To Accomplish More as a Musician

As a part-time musician, you need to use every advantage available to you. That’s why you need to know about the benefits of waking up early.

My kids force me to wake up early. So by default, I’ve learned how helpful early mornings can be for my general productivity, which bleeds into my music-making.

3 Scientific Benefits of Waking Up Early

“Scientific” here means researchers have studied fellow humans ‒ how they feel and how they perform cognitively based on their sleep habits.

Better sleep 

Research suggests you can get better sleep if you go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. 

For many of us, we have to get up early in the morning regardless of when we go to bed. You know, jobs and school and kids. 

If you get better sleep, you’ll have more energy throughout the day. Which of course will make you more productive.

You’ll also be in a better mood. And lord knows, I am a different person when I don’t get enough sleep. It’s like The Hulk and Dr. Robert Bruce Banner.

Less stress

By getting up early, you have more daytime hours to get stuff done. This can lead to less stress because you have more time to do the things you need to do.

Better sleep means you’re in a better mood, you have lower stress levels, and you even have better problem-solving skills.  

These things mean more brain space and better mental health to create music. 

More likely to be successful (really)

So what happens when you combine better mood, less stress, and overall higher cognitive function?

Success. 

In a study involving university students, the results found that students who woke up early had better grades.

So apply this to your music career. 

Get up early and you’ll have a better chance of getting work done and reaching your goals. 

RELATED: Want To Be 140% More Likely To Reach Your Music Goals?

3 Benefits of Waking Up Early To Do Music

Now let’s apply these benefits to making music on the side. Here’s how early mornings will help your music career…

Music becomes your priority

By starting your day with music, you’re making music your priority instead of just saying it’s important to you. 

The alternative is making music at the end of the day, after you get home from work, school, or after you’ve cared for kids all day. 

And if you’re human, you get more tired as the day goes on. You don’t want to try making music when you’re exhausted.

I’ve done that and it’s very easy to burn out. 

“…Choose the time that’s good for you [to write]. For me, it’s early morning because I wake up, and I’m fresh, and I sit in my place. I look out the window, and I have coffee, and no one’s gotten up yet or called me or hurt my feelings.”

Francis Ford Coppola

Music becomes part of your regular routine

Because you’re more productive in the morning, before the day has bogged you down, it can be easier to incorporate it into your daily routine.

And when music becomes something you do every day, you’ll start to see your music career grow. 

The key is to be consistent. 

Add “make music” as a new event in your calendar. You can set the time for as little as 15 minutes.

That’s not much time, but the goal is to make it a habit. Small consistent steps are better than no steps. 

RELATED: The Power of Calendars for Musicians

You’ll feel less overwhelmed

If you start your day with music, you’ll feel much better the rest of the day.

You will have gotten your one thing done before you even go to work. 

You won’t have to try to make music at night when you’re tired. 

You won’t feel overwhelmed that your music career isn’t going anywhere. 

One small thing a day keeps the overwhelm away. 

How To Wake Up Earlier (and Get More Done)

How long does it take to train yourself to wake up early? 

Well, forming a new habit can take at least two months. So if you truly want to start waking up early, you’ll have to be patient. 

And follow these tips…

Start slow

You can’t jump from waking up at 9 a.m. to waking up at 5:30 a.m. I mean, you could. But your body and brain are not going to like that.

You have to condition your body gradually. 

Start setting your alarm clock 15 minutes earlier than you’d normally wake up. Then, once your body gets used to that, set it 15 minutes earlier. 

And so on, until you’re waking up when you want.

Put your phone/alarm on the other side of the room

Ah, the dreaded snooze button. You know what I’m talking about.

To avoid this, put your alarm clock (or phone) on the other side of the room. 

This will force you to get out of bed to turn off that incessant noise. 

If that’s not enough, crank the volume of your alarm clock to 100%.

Develop a bedtime and morning routine

Humans are creatures of habit. So it’s important to form the habits you want. 

Creating a bedtime and morning routine can help get you in the flow of waking up early. 

Do the same things before you go to bed. Then do the same things when you wake up.

For me, my mornings involve doing 10-15 pushups, brushing my teeth, then sitting on the couch while I drink tea/coffee and water before taking my kids to school.

Then before I start work, I do 15 minutes of songwriting. 

Final Thoughts

The benefits of waking up early for you as a musician are clear.

All of these tips will lead to a more productive you. A more energetic you. And a you that feels happier and less stressed. 

And all of that is good news for your music career. 

You’ll be in a better headspace to create more meaningful music, which means you can grow your music career one early morning at a time.