This post is based entirely on my own experience. It's more of a record of what worked well for me, rather than a universal answer for everyone.

The Position of Free Time

When is free time better spent? After work or before work? For a while, I naturally assumed it was after work. But what changed my lifestyle wasn't the amount of sleep itself, but the position of free time. Even with the same amount of sleep, if you pile that time at night, the day ends with 'reward,' but if you place it in the morning, the day starts with 'preparation.' I'm someone who works better with preparation, so I decided to sleep early and wake up early.

Sleep duration doesn't vary much from person to person. What ultimately divides lifestyles is not "how much you sleep" but "when you sleep." There's the style of sleeping late and waking late to extend post-work hours, and there's the style of sleeping early and waking early to extend pre-work hours. I've experienced both styles, and the one that suits me better was clear. Free time secured in the morning made my days less shaky.

My Morning

My morning usually starts like this. If I sleep around 11 PM, I naturally wake up around 5 AM. No alarm. However, I do set one alarm for 6:30 AM just in case I'm unusually tired and sleep longer. When I open my eyes, I sit for a moment on the dark bed and think. Should I sleep more, or should I get up? If I'm not that tired, I get out of bed. I put water in the kettle and lightly tidy up the house. While the water boils, I wipe around the sink and prepare a cup of tea or coffee. And then my personal free time begins. I might read a book, watch a drama or YouTube, or use social media. The days I feel I've spent most "meaningfully" are when I open Obsidian and start writing notes.

What's important in this scene isn't the type of activity. Honestly, it just looks like ordinary free time on the surface. But mornings have a unique pleasure. It's quiet, no one is really moving yet, and there are hardly any messages. That atmosphere itself makes me less shaky. The things I choose feel more "mine." In the time when the social world seems to pause, I find it a bit easier to focus on myself.

Night of Reward, Morning of Preparation

But the core reason I wake up early is something else. The mindset is completely different when free time is only clustered 'after work' versus when it also exists 'before work.'

A late-sleeping lifestyle usually extends free time after work. Instead, mornings become rushed, and the day starts "urgently for work." And after work, this feeling naturally arises: "I worked hard today, let me reward myself." The problem is that at that time, my energy is already depleted. So that reward often tends to flow toward short-term pleasure. It was especially so for me.

Structural Difference: Night Is Unlimited, Morning Has a Deadline

I feel the "structure of night" itself plays a part here. Night has blurry limits. Even at 1 AM, 2 AM, 3 AM, you can stay awake. This easily tips the mind toward: "Can't I do a bit more? I can just sleep less. I'll just be a bit tired tomorrow." The problem is that this 'bit' repeats and keeps cutting into sleep time. For me, when I placed free time at night, my standards for spending time became loose and my condition the next day often became shaky too.

And mornings have clear limits. At least by 8 or 9 AM, or at latest 10 AM, I need to leave home or start my work. This deadline actually protects me. When free time is in the morning, it becomes "until a set time" rather than "forever," so it's relatively harder to unreasonably cut into sleep time. That's why mornings made me waste less time than nights and were advantageous for maintaining my life rhythm.

Mindset Difference: Night Is Reward, Morning Is Preparation

Moreover, when you sleep early and wake early, free time moves to the morning. Morning free time has a different texture from post-work free time. Morning is closer to "preparation" than "reward." Preparation strangely feels good. Like planning before a trip, it's easy to imagine results optimistically and the mind moves positively. Most importantly, in the morning, there are several hours of buffer until work. That buffer makes me comfortable. So even when I play, I feel less guilty because I've already secured sleep, and even when I spend time productively, it's less tiring because I've slept enough.

Sometimes I think: "If I could create this mindset after work too, wouldn't it be okay to sleep late and wake late?" Theoretically, it might be possible. But at least for me, mornings were a much easier environment to create that mindset. Mornings structurally create 'preparation mode.' That's why I feel this approach is optimized for me.

Reactions from Others Are a Bonus

Additionally, there's a bonus that helps sustain this. Society still generally views "people who wake up early" positively. "You wake up early? That's impressive!" It becomes easier to praise myself, and surprisingly often, I get good reactions from others.

However, to maintain this lifestyle, "sleeping early" is actually just as important as "waking up early." "Then when do you sleep? That is..." I've organized this part separately in How I Wake Up Early.

Of course, this isn't the essence. I try to treat external evaluation as occasional warm sunshine or a gentle breeze. As a social animal, I inevitably desire it, but good weather is beyond my control and is easy to be shaken by when depended on. So pursuing only this becomes painful. I don't want to be in pain.

So I Wake Up Early

In summary, the reason I wake up early converges to one thing. I want to place my free time not only in the 'reward' night but also in the 'preparation' morning. That choice gives me quietness, makes the start of the day more optimistic, and ultimately makes time more "on my side."

In the next post, I want to address a more practical question. As mentioned earlier, how can you sleep early? I plan to organize tips, mindsets, and environment needed to sleep early in my own way.