“Wake up early and you’ll be productive,” everyone claims—they’re wrong. Here’s why

For the longest time, I subscribed to the idea that if I wanted to conquer the day, I needed to roll out of bed before sunrise—preferably with a grin plastered on my face and a cup of black coffee already in hand.

You’ve probably heard the same motivational snippets: “

Winners wake up at 5 a.m.” or “If you’re not up by dawn, you’re losing precious hours!” It’s hard not to feel like you’re slacking if you sleep in till 8 a.m. or even 9 a.m.

But after years of trying to force myself into an “early bird” schedule, I finally had to admit something: it made me miserable.

Instead of feeling energized, I was sluggish, grumpy, and downright unproductive.

Ironically, all the tips that claimed early mornings would supercharge my day left me more drained than ever.

Let’s explore why this “wake up early, crush it” mentality isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.

The myth of the early riser

The assumption goes like this: if you wake up earlier, you’ll have more uninterrupted time to knock out tasks.

You’ll be ahead of everyone else — mentally, physically, and spiritually.

The problem with that logic is it overlooks a key point: not everyone is wired the same way.

There’s a growing body of research on sleep chronotypes — basically, our internal clocks.

Some people naturally function best in the morning — they’re the ones who practically glow at 6 a.m. Others (like me) hit their stride in the late afternoon or even into the night.

Forcing ourselves into an early-riser mold can wreck our mood, our health, and ironically, our productivity.

Some morning people may find their groove before breakfast, but if you’re not that type, no amount of 5 a.m. alarms will magically boost your focus. You’ll just end up yawning over your keyboard.

Personal experiment gone wrong

I’ve mentioned this before, but when I first switched from my digital marketing gig to freelance writing, I tried a popular morning routine I’d seen championed by high achievers.

It went like this:

Wake up at 5:00 a.m., do a brief meditation, knock out a workout, and start writing by 6:30.

At first, it felt exhilarating—like I was part of some secret club of unstoppable morning warriors. Then reality hit.

By 2 p.m. each day, my energy crashed. I’d stare blankly at my laptop, re-reading the same paragraph without any comprehension.

My morning writing sessions were okay, sure — but my afternoons and evenings?

Absolute write-offs.

I was basically spending half my day in a mental fog, forcing myself to slog through tasks at a snail’s pace. And it affected my personal life, too. If a friend wanted to grab dinner past 7, I’d be that guy struggling to keep my eyes open.

Eventually, I had to face the facts: my personal circadian rhythm didn’t match the schedule I’d been forcing on myself.

Once I gave myself permission to shift my wake-up time to a more humane 7:30 or 8:00 a.m., something amazing happened:

I became more productive overall.

The writing sessions might start an hour or two later, but they were higher in quality and yielded more work in less time. My nights became more relaxed, and my mood improved.

Ignoring the bigger picture

Another issue with the “rise early, be productive” narrative is that it often ignores the why behind productivity.

If your goal is to create meaningful work, you want to tap into those periods of peak focus. If your peak focus is at 10 a.m.—or maybe you hit a second wind at 9 p.m. — it’s counterproductive to push yourself to perform at 5 or 6 in the morning.

You’re basically moving your schedule to a time slot where you’re half-asleep.

Tim Ferriss is well-known for hacking time and energy, but even he doesn’t claim that everyone needs to follow the same timetable.

Instead, it’s about testing and iterating until you find your personal sweet spot.

The trouble is, early mornings get glorified in the press, in self-help books, and on social media.  We see it as a “badge of honor.”

The real question: do you want a badge, or do you want results?

The case for sleeping in

Let’s flip the script and talk about the benefits of sleeping in. Some people assume that if you don’t wake up early, you’re lazy or you lack discipline.

But consider what good, uninterrupted sleep actually does for your brain:

It helps with memory consolidation, emotional regulation, and even problem-solving skills.

If your body naturally needs seven or eight hours of sleep, waking up at 5 a.m. might mean you’re cutting your sleep short—and paying for it in your output during the day.

Ever notice how ideas sometimes come to you just as you’re waking up — like your mind has been quietly solving problems overnight?

That creative spark can be snuffed out if you’re leaping out of bed before your body is ready. By allowing yourself a more organic wake-up time (within reason, of course), you might preserve that creative edge.

For me, it’s been a game-changer for my writing process. I wake up when I’ve had enough rest, and I attack the day with sharper mental clarity.

When early mornings do work

Now, I’m not saying no one should ever wake up early.

If you’re a morning person by nature, have at it!

There’s a good chance you thrive on those first rays of sunlight, and you get a lot done before the world stirs.

That’s awesome.

The problem is making it a blanket rule for everyone else.

It’s also worth noting that certain obligations (like a 9-to-5 job or kids who need breakfast at 6:30 a.m.) do push you into an early schedule whether you like it or not.

In that case, maybe the best solution is to go to bed earlier, rather than fighting your alarm every morning.

But for many of us, especially freelancers, entrepreneurs, or remote workers, it might be time to give ourselves permission to reject the “early equals better” mindset if it’s just not working.

Testing your sweet spot

So how do you find the right schedule for you?

One method is to track when your energy feels highest and note when you get the most work done.

Do it for a week or two and see if there’s a pattern.

Maybe you discover that from 9 a.m. to noon, you’re unstoppable, while the early morning hours leave you half-conscious. Or perhaps you find a groove from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. once you’ve gotten some admin tasks out of the way.

Experimenting is key.

Don’t be afraid to tinker with your bedtime and wake-up time, and see which combo yields the most consistent productivity.

Just because a well-known CEO claims to rise at 4 a.m. to do push-ups and read three newspapers doesn’t mean you should too.

Your version of success might flourish on a different schedule entirely.