I’m tip toeing through the house using my phone as a flashlight. The creaking floor boards sound like atomic bombs during the wee hours of the morning.

Then, my bare foot steps on a transformer action figure that was left out from the prior evenings play session. It feels like the plastic robotic hand has hit bone on my foot. I bite my tongue and press my lips together with pit bull-like pressure to hold back my squeals of pain. This is how my day begins, it’s 5:12 A.M. and I am terribly behind schedule.

You see, I’m a morning person and this is my prime time. It’s my secret weapon against all the things that pull for my attention and threaten to turn my day upside down. It’s my trump card to take back my most precious asset—my time. After years of struggling against the forces of lost time, I’ve found the best solution is to beat them up. Beat them up out of bed, not with fists of course.

At this point, the former me of a few short years ago would be thinking: “Morning person!?! Not gonna happen amigo.”

I know, this is a tough one right out of the gate but stay with me. There is something about being up and getting stuff done knowing that the vast majority of people (in your time zone) are still asleep. There is no better time of day to do the hardest thing my brain does—thinking. The mind is at it’s freshest, like a sluggish computer that just got a new system reboot. I am able to focus and do my best creative work and not dwell on the mountain of items in my inbox.

I know I’m not alone in this claim. I’ve read it in books and articles, heard creative geniuses like Stefan Sagmeister talk about it and have had more than a few mentors pass on the tip of making the most out the morning hours.

I’m sure you have seen it too. You know the coworker that seems to get everything done early, the buddy that’s always ahead of the pack or the entrepreneur you constantly read about that makes you wonder: “how in Hades do they do all that stuff!” I’m willing to bet, they know and use this secret weapon.

Before I was a morning person, my creativity seemed stuck in the mud. I kept trying the same ideas, just dressed in new clothes. Today, I have over half-dozen notebooks full of stories, articles and writing ideas. I have an equal amount of sketch books full of characters, products and other visual delights. Where once, my biggest problem was trying to kick start a stagnant creativity, now my problem is deciding what ideas to execute. I don’t know about you, but I prefer the problem of having too many ideas than having my creative bank account overdrawn.

Also, the phone doesn’t ring and I absolutely do not waste any of those precious moments checking email (really, the emails can wait). It’s a bit like a mini vacation where you find yourself free of the daily obligations.

I know, despite all this, you may still not be budging. Here’s how I tricked myself into it. I use incentives to get me excited and drive me out of bed. For me, I take three of my loves and have them ready and waiting—my coffee, music and sketchbook. I make sure they are out and ready to go on the kitchen table before giving up the ghost the night before.

I just get up, French press some coffee, log on Soma FM and start putting graphite to paper. My ideal schedule is 5:00 AM to 6:45 AM but that’s extreme due to the fact I’m a dad and need to beat the school rush shenanigans. Maybe 7:00 AM is for you. Heck, maybe 10:00 AM is early for some freelancers. Either way, give it a month but I’m sure you’ll see results in a week. Just get up already.

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• Actions For You:
• :: Shoot to get up one hour earlier than you normally do (half an hour at least).
• :: Give yourself incentives like great coffee, tea, music, or just a predawn walk to help drive you out of bed.
• :: Decide the night before on a passion project of interest, a new skill to learn, book to read or just a general game plan of what you aim to do with your morning (no email or web surfing).
• :: Or if projects don’t get you excited, go for a walk, hit the gym or visit the growing number of morning hour meet up like: Creative Mornings.