For the past two months I’ve been a member of the 5am club and it’s made a massive difference in my life.

It was inspired by author Robin Sharma and a few of friends who have adopted the practice into their lives.

I thought I’ d share my version with you as I think it could be a useful thing to add into your life.

Each morning I am up at 5am and here is what I do.

Practice #1 – Water.

Before I do anything else I hydrate my body with a litre of water. It’s a traditional Ayurvedic practice which is said to have multiple health benefits from flushing out toxins and impurities to improving concentration levels.

I do it to kick start my body’s engine as it will have been without it for at least 6 hours. Besides our brain cells are about 85% water and muscles contain 75% of H2O so it makes sense that you should feed it more of what it needs.

I can tell from my own experience that my body functions so much better as a result. I can really feel a difference in my energy levels on the days when I haven’t done this properly.

Practice #2 – Gratitude.

I spend the next 15 minutes in the practice of gratitude. Simply I have a conversation with God and give thanks for what I have in my life physically and spiritually. What I mean by that is not only giving thanks for the material things in my life but also for the person that I am at my soul level.

I give thanks to the good times and also to the challenges that my life that have shaped me into who I am and what I am able to do.

You may not believe in God or any ‘higher power’ but that doesn’t mean you can’t practice gratitude. You can simply go through a process of thanking all the key people in your life for contributions that have made to where you are now.

I can tell you that I have been far more on ‘message’, driven and motivated as a result of this short process.

Practice #3 – Fitness.

It’s workout time. Contrary to what you may be picturing in your mind this doesn’t mean you have to be in a gym.

A workout can be a brisk walk, a run through your local park or body weight circuit you can do in your living room (if you need help with this let me know I have some great ideas!) Whatever constitutes exercise for you, do it for 30 mins.

I chose to go to a gym because it fits my goals. I usually spend about 60-75 minutes on a planned routine which I have tailored to fit what I want to achieve with my body but this time isn’t just about physical exercise. It’s “me” time.

In my work I am with people all day and I also have a wife and young daughter, so this hour of “me” time is one of the few periods of the day that I can lock myself away from the world.

I plug into audiobooks, motivational speeches and sometimes I even watch a sitcom while I am on a bike. It fires my brain up in different ways and I feel more creative, energised and focused as result.

The Golden Rule. 

During this whole time I avoid checking my email and social media. I will read articles from specific magazines.

The only times I will do something on social media is if I suddenly have an idea or thought that I think will have value to the people I am connected with.

Do it your way but do it.

You might think I am crazy and tell yourself that there is no way on earth you would get up at 5am.

You don’t have to be up at 5am.

The intention behind this practice is all about setting you up for a successful productive day, so whether you do it at 5.30, 6 or even 7 am- the point is you take an hour to spend some time on ‘you’ before you get to ‘working on/with/for them’

Let me know how you get on, I’d love to hear about your results.