How to Find the Time to Pursue Your Passions
By: Devin Arrigo
Tags: Advice, Writing, Self, Success, Creativity

How to Find the Time to Pursue Your Passions

Building a meaningful side hustle while working a 9-to-5

Photo by Blake Cheek on Unsplash

While my girlfriend and I were getting ready for bed yesterday, she rolled over and quietly asked me, “What time are you getting up tomorrow?”. I could already tell where this conversation was headed.

“5:30", I responded.

To be honest, I’m not sure why she continues to ask me this question because I get up at the same time every single day. Nonetheless, she picked up her phone to check the time:

11 pm.

I could tell she was doing some mental math in her head, silently adding up home much sleep I’ll get if I do get up at 5:30. After coming to the answer, she then tried to reason with me.

“I think you should sleep until 6:30. That’s still an hour and a half before you have to work — think of everything you could get done!”

She was right — sometimes I do actually need a little more sleep. But the other part of her argument is the exact reason I get up at 5:30 in the first place.

“Yeah, but if I don’t get up at 5:30, I won't have enough time to get everything done that I want to throughout the day.”

Getting up early allows me to focus on the things I want to focus on when I’m at my best. Trying to write an article after a full day of work is like beating my head against the wall — it never ends well.

Getting up early creates an opportunity to give my best effort to the things I care about most. Before the stress of the day begins, I can devote 2.5 hours to myself — journaling, reading, writing, and exercising.

And when I finally log onto my 9-to-5 job at 8 am, I feel like I've already accomplished so much.

The Biggest Source of Underutilized Time

I get it, finding the time to pursue what you love is hard. You’re swamped with work, family, exercise, or (let’s be honest) Netflix.

The truth is, if you can’t find time to work, you won’t ever be able to pursue what you want.

Most of my evenings after a long day are filled with exercise, family time, dinner, and a little relaxation. One of the last things I want to do is work some more.

But the mornings are the complete opposite. They’re some of my most creative and where 80% of my work is done.

The biggest source of underutilized time is in the morning.

No one actually likes getting up early, but there’s a reason why some of the most successful people in the world do it.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “The early morning has gold in its mouth.”. And Aristotle, the famous greek philosopher said this about the mornings:

“It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.”

Success requires work. And if you can’t find the time to work, you won’t be able to build anything successfully.

If you don’t want to put in the work at night, trying waking up early. Sure, you may have to go to sleep a bit earlier, but I guarantee that you’ll feel invigorated and more creative than you ever have before.

Photo by Chris Curry on Unsplash

Waking Up Early Makes You Less Tired

“Okay, I get it,” my girlfriend responded after I told her why I get up at 5:30.

“I just want to make sure you’re getting enough sleep.”

This is one of the things I love about her — she’s constantly worried about me. I reassured her that I get plenty of sleep, and then followed up with something I hadn’t even recognized before, it just kind of spilled out of me.

“When I sleep in, I end up feeling more tired, not less.”

I know, it sounds counterintuitive. but bear with me.

Let’s do the math:

To bed at 11 pm

Wake up at 5:30 am

Total sleep time: 6.5 hours (if I fall asleep at 11 on the dot)

According to the CDC, the average adult needs at least 7 hours of sleep per night. Based on the above, I’m nearly spot on. More often than not, when we’re “tired” it’s due to oversleeping, not undersleeping.

Sure, maybe you could say I need a little more sleep. But when I get up early knowing that I get to work on something I love — I spring out of bed.

It’s addicting starting my day by working towards the person I want to become and building something ridiculously cool.