In a world that’s always on, it can seem as though it doesn’t matter when you work, as long as the job gets done. Ironically, I discovered my best time to work by procrastinating on essays in college.

When I was too sleepy to write at 2 a.m. the night before the assignment was due, I had little choice but to get up at 6 a.m. and finish the essay before class at 8 a.m. To my surprise, I found that I was more focused and at least as coherent in the morning as I was late at night. For a long time, I assumed it was the adrenaline rush from working so close to the zero hour that sharpened my mind.

After a while, I began to consider the possibility that I was really a morning person. I had always thought of myself as a night person, and I would still say I do my best work when it’s dark. But now the hours before the sun comes up are my most productive time. I really am more focused and coherant first thing in the morning.

Whether you’re a morning person or not, there are a lot of benefits to getting up and working before dawn.

1. Early morning quiet. Once I’ve bribed the cats with food, it’s quiet enough I can really focus on my writing, homework, anything where distractions would usually slow me down. This quiet time lets me focus on something important before all the usual “urgent” but not “important” tasks take over my day.
2. It’s dark before dawn. When I wake in the dark, I gradually become more and more aware of myself and my surroundings, rather than waking and rushing out the door. The shadows outside and the dim light inside put me into a meditative mood that lets my creativity flow.
3. The moments between sleep and waking are often a well of creativity. Sometimes I can even take advantage of the narrative flow from my dreams and just keep dreaming on paper. Often the storyline isn’t worthwhile, but some of my favorite characters have come from my dreams.
4. It’s nice to start the day having accomplished something. Even if the rest of the day is a hectic, unorganized, unproductive mess, at least I had the opportunity to focus on what’s important to me first thing in the morning.
5. Waking early makes me more enthusiastic about the rest of the day. When I start the day with that energizing feeling of accomplishment, it makes the rest of the day a little more bearable, even if it does turn out to be a hectic, unorganized, unproductive mess.
6. It’s justification for a nap later. An afternoon nap is another opportunity to reenergize, and waking early is the perfect excuse.
7. It’s a good reason to quit early. It can be tempting to work on and on into the wee hours of the morning, but if I’m planning on getting up in the wee hours of the morning, I’m much more likely to quit early. I prefer starting fresh in the morning instead of working later and later as my interest and enthusiasm flag.
8. Getting up early makes “sleeping in” till 6 a.m. seem like a treat. I love weekend days, because I let myself “sleep in” and yet I still get up early enough to get in most of a day’s work before lunch. Then I have all afternoon to play, if I want.
9. Waking early establishes a pattern. When I need to be somewhere earlier than usual, like a staff meeting before work, it’s no hardship. I’ve already been up for hours, so I’m not rushing in to work all bleary-eyed like my coworkers.
10. Writing first thing in the morning clears the cobwebs and sets the mood for the day. If I have the opportunity to freewrite, I can “talk” to myself about what’s bothering me, what needs special attention, what needs to get done. Starting the day with clarity helps me focus all day long.

I should warn you not to overdo it, though. Since starting my preparations for National Novel Writing Month, I’ve been so eager to write that I’ve been getting up at 4:30 a.m. for the past week or so—weekends included—and haven’t been going to bed until 10 or 11 p.m. It’s starting to catch up to me. So I’ve come up with some tips for waking early without burning out.

1. If you’re new to the morning habit, change your waking time gradually. When I first decided to get up earlier, I had to use two alarm clocks, staggered 15 minutes apart. I started just getting up half an hour earlier than I had been and gradually worked backwards from there. I still give myself a sticker for getting up by 6 a.m., though I’m usually up much earlier now.
2. Plan your morning activities. If I don’t have any idea why I’m getting up early, it’s easier to hit snooze a few dozen times than come up with a valid reason before I’ve really woken up. Plan a specific and enjoyable activity you can do first thing in the morning that will motivate you to get out of bed.
3. Take advantage of whatever time you have. Especially when you first start getting up earlier, you may only have an extra 15 minutes more than what you had before. But if you can’t write the next 2,000 words on your novel, do a freewriting exercise instead. Even starting the first paragraph of my writing will make me think about it all day long. It’s as though I’m writing all day in the back of my head, and when I come home and sit down at the computer, the words just pour out.
4. Most importantly, get enough sleep. When my bedtime gets later, I start waking up later, and soon my productive morning time is gone. Calculate how much sleep you need and go to bed in plenty of time to be well-rested.

My productivity has soared since I started consistently waking earlier. My early hours, before anyone else is awake, have been essential to writing this blog. I’m also relying heavily on the hours I have before going to work to write my novel. Even if you think you’re a night person, as I once did, give waking early a try. You may find you accomplish more than ever before.

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