There has been a flurry of memes on Facebook that challenge the idea that early risers are go-getters, while those that sleep later are lazy. The memes say things like:
If I am lazy for sleeping 2 hours later than you do, why are you not lazy for going to bed 2 hours earlier?
I find this to be an interesting concept to ponder. Surveys of the CEO’s of most of the Fortune 100 companies show that most are early risers. Survey data is always a bit tricky though. Perhaps, some CEO’s did not accurately report what time they actually get up because of our society’s vantage point on the idea that those that sleep later are lazy. Perhaps, some reported what time their alarm goes off instead of what time they actually get out of bed. I know that there can be a three hour variance in this at times for me.
Are people that get up earlier really more productive members of society? Taking an assessment of my current coworkers, I cannot say that there is data to suggest that early risers and late arrivers are more productive. I work for a small firm comprised of exceptionally high performers, some start their day super early, while others roll in around 9:30 each morning.
At my previous firm, I consistently accomplished more than my peers did the entire day before most of them even arrived to work. Yet, there were exceptions, my friend/co-worker, Kristi for example. She was a total night owl. I would log out of my computer around 8 PM, and log back in around 5 AM to be consistently amazed at how much she accomplished in the night hours.
Like so many things in life. I think it is a matter of personal preference and lifestyle. For me personally, I am a huge believer in getting up early. I feel that waking up early, and having time to get into a positive, productive mindset yields a much better outcome for each day than sleeping later and being rushed from one thing to the next. My favorite way to start a day is with a run at 4:30 AM. I can then run for a whole hour, and be out of the shower by 6:00 AM when the birds wake up. Folks that know me well at work, will ask how my morning run went before they make demands of me. They know the better the run; the more likely I am to want to take on more work that day.
Reflecting on this, I find that I am grateful to have an employer that offers me the flexibility to be a morning person or to not be. I feel extremely blessed in my career.