Want to be successful in life? Wake up early!

As busy adults, parents and workers, we often feel there is never enough time in the day to accomplish everything we “need” to do. Personally, I am an early bird. I feel there is nothing productive or exciting that happens past 10 p.m. on any given night and would prefer to be up early, meaning 5 or 6 a.m.

Recently, I reread a book I read a few years ago and it has put my mornings back into perspective. The book, “What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast,” is written by Laura Vanderkam. In the book, Vanderkam explains her research of the way people use their time in the mornings. She mentions if you change your wake up time to get up early in the morning, you will also have to adjust the time you go to bed.

What do you do with your morning — from the time you wake up to when you start your workday?

Business Insider wrote an article about Vanderkam’s book to sum up what the most successful people do before breakfast, here are a few ideas:

• They wake up early (obviously)

• They exercise before it falls off the to-do list

• They spend quality time with family

• They network over coffee

• They write down things they are grateful for

Let’s take a look at just a couple of these ideas.

In the health and wellness world that I have chosen as my profession, so many people say they don’t have time to exercise. I used to say this until I finally discovered I didn’t make time to exercise. If increasing your physical activity is a priority in your life, then put it first on your to-do list. If you have children, get up an hour earlier than usual and get in that run, go to the gym or do a workout at home before the kids get up and require you to help them get ready. Whatever you do, do not put it off for later in the day when life can get in the way and change your plans.

Another area that families usually say they are missing out on is quality time as a family. Who says dinner time has to be the time when everyone is actually spending time together? Yes, many years ago most households had everyone home at 5 p.m. to eat dinner and “mom” was usually home to have it waiting on the table for everyone. Today, we live in a very fast-forward mindset where we believe we have to do 10 times more in our days to feel accomplished and purposeful. If your family has sports practices or jobs that require one or more parents to often work late, turn breakfast into the time when everyone can sit down, catch up and spend quality time together. This might require everyone to get up a little earlier, but again — if it is a priority, don’t put it off for later in the day.

These are just a few ways to prioritize what is important to you in your life. It is proven that early in the day is when we should focus on those things that we want to set goals and accomplish. I wish you luck in deciding what is best for you and your family.