The Myth of the Morning Person — and What to Do Instead

🧠 The Myth of the Morning Person — and What to Do Instead

You’ve heard it. You’ve probably felt it.
That vague cultural pressure to be a “morning person” — to rise at 5:00 AM, down a green smoothie, journal your intentions, run five miles, and have your inbox zeroed out before the rest of the world even hits snooze.

But here’s the truth: being productive has less to do with when you wake up, and more to do with how your energy flows throughout the day.

The real problem?
Most of us are trying to organize our lives around the clock… instead of around our capacity.

⏳ Time Is Fixed. Energy Isn’t.

You get 24 hours a day, no matter how many alarms you set.
But your energy? That’s a moving target. It dips. It spikes. It gets zapped by pointless meetings and refueled by random dance breaks in your kitchen.

If you’ve ever had a wide-open day and still felt like you accomplished nothing, it’s not because you’re lazy.
It’s because the “when” didn’t align with your “how much.”

🌅 The Morning Myth, Busted

Morning productivity works for some people. But if you do your best thinking at 2 PM or your creative streak kicks in after dinner — forcing yourself into the 5 AM Club isn’t just unhelpful… it’s counterproductive.

It’s like planting tomatoes in December and wondering why they don’t grow. The conditions aren’t the problem — the timing is.

🔍 Try This: Map Your Energy Curve

Instead of forcing a routine onto yourself, observe your natural rhythm. For one week:

• Note the times you feel alert, creative, or focused

• Notice when your energy plummets or you reach for caffeine

• Pay attention to when you feel most “in flow”

Once you spot your peak times — guard them.
That’s when you should be doing your high-impact work. Not checking emails. Not aimlessly scrolling. Not sitting in status meetings that could’ve been a memo.

🤖 Bonus: Let AI Help You Ride the Wave

AI isn’t just for writing emails or booking appointments.
It can help you extend your high-energy windows and automate the low-energy ones.

Here are two quick prompts to try:

• “Summarize the 3 biggest takeaways from this meeting transcript.”

• “Draft a follow-up email based on these messy meeting notes.”

Save those low-lift tasks for your energy dips. Save your peak hours for the deep stuff.

🚫 Stop Managing Time. Start Protecting Energy.

The calendar doesn’t know when you’re at your best. But you do.
If you’re ready to stop measuring productivity by hours and start measuring it by impact — you don’t need to become a morning person. You just need to become a you person.