Rise and Whine

Is the 5AM Club just hustle culture in a hoodie? I dig into the science, the smugness, and why you don’t need sunrise to succeed.

Transcript

00:00.51
Speaker
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Expat Brat Podcast. I hope you are all well. I bet at this point you guys are all just about to take off for your summer holidays and plans, especially the people with families.

00:13.06
Speaker
ah You're probably excited about it well i I'm happy for you. um Deep down, I'm not. I was supposed to be in Mexico ah right now. for It would have been my fourth or fifth day there.

00:27.33
Speaker
And then a couple of days later, I was going to fly off to l la and San Diego. And I was going to get to watch ah ah one of their soccer, what is it called, MLS, one of their games.

00:39.58
Speaker
I planned it all. um ah I had really good seats with my cousin. and then um And then stuff happened. A couple of countries go to war, well, on the brink of war, and flights get canceled, and here I am.

00:54.09
Speaker
Now my wife and kid are in the UK, and i am I'm in Dubai. I'm staying here for the summer, I guess, except for some work travel. I just basically pushed away everything that was happening, and not sure when I'll replan everything.

01:09.28
Speaker
Again, ah my bank balance feels a bit better, ah the silver lining or the gold lining in this whole situation.

01:19.73
Speaker
But it was kind of is is really disappointing. um was really upset because I was taking my wife and the two of us were going to travel. And I was really excited because we haven't had a chance to get away ah forever. um I mean, honestly, the last time we there's just the two of us travel was probably our honeymoon.

01:39.35
Speaker
which is sad. um And I'm not surprised. I should, I'm surprised my wife is not more upset about the last few years. Maybe she is.

01:52.15
Speaker
ah But it just means they're in the UK. So at least they're getting good weather. I'm stuck here and it is hot, my friend. It is super hot. It has been hotter than usual and Dubai is just, ah I think, the Middle East and climate change and blah, blah, blah and just This is the reality we live in right now, right?

02:09.17
Speaker
Anyway, that's ah that what's happening with me at the moment. Just ah completed some shows and stuff and I think summer might be a bit more lax ah in that sense as well. i am i'm not I'm just not keen on going outside.

02:24.97
Speaker
Every time I have to step outside, I'm like, is this necessary? Is this... Do I need to? Will I die if I don't? Because there's a chance I might if I go out.

02:36.86
Speaker
ah But here we are. And it just gave me a little bit of time to relax at least and chill out. And you know what I was thinking about was this is what got me. And I was like, I got to i gotta i gotta do this episode. um I'm talking about people, the whole 5 a.m.

02:55.64
Speaker
club. You know what ah what what I'm talking about? The morning people. The early bird gets the worm. ah Early to bed, early to... write What was that bill?

03:06.87
Speaker
um not That's the wrong name. Yeah. Benjamin Franklin. I'm thinking about Benjamin Franklin. There's a saying he had about waking up early. Anyway, that's not the point. My point is, the thing I want to talk about is this, there's this whole like um club of people who think, and I think it's just been pushed down people's throats a lot.

03:30.19
Speaker
And I don't believed it for the longest of time was this whole 5 a.m. club, you know, ah get up at 5 a.m. and and get going with your life and and it'll mean you'll be more happy and ah healthy and productive, right?

03:45.89
Speaker
and And I think ah it was easier for me to fall for it because I'm a morning person, much to my wife's disappointment. she She hates the fact that I get up and I'm all chirpy and stuff.

03:59.56
Speaker
ah but But it's the truth. And and i think over the years, i don't even know what it means by morning person. I just, I'm not grumpy, all right?

04:10.26
Speaker
I can see some people are grumpy. They take longer to start. As I grow older, i feel it a bit more. and And my lifestyle doesn't really help with the whole situation as well. But here we are.

04:21.57
Speaker
and And I just thought... um You know, it's ah it' so it was easier for me to believe that that is the way to be, that that's the cool way to do it. And it's the right way. And maybe I just grew up with some preconceived ideas about it, too.

04:37.28
Speaker
So I totally fell for it. And and just because I'm an early morning riser or morning person, I'm not saying I was up at 5 a.m. at that time, but it was easier for me to buy into that concept.

04:51.20
Speaker
and And I tried it for a while too. And anyone who's tried it and if they're honest with themselves, I'm talking about normal people, they would um they they would be honest enough to go, no, actually, this is this this did not help me in any way whatsoever. Right?

05:08.30
Speaker
All right. Look, the backstory is, if you're not aware of this thing, is that it started off with a couple of books like Robin Sharma's, what was it called? The 5 a.m. Club. ah There was another one, The Power Hour and all these kind of things.

05:22.03
Speaker
And they all talked about how if you get up at five and all these successful people are doing it and then you had celebrities and influencers talking about it like... um ah your your politicians, ah Michelle Obama, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Tim Cook, ah CEO of Apple.

05:39.60
Speaker
So when when they were all like, we get up at this time and it you know's we meditate and blah, blah, blah. And it all sounds really nice on paper. It sounds amazing on paper. You kind of go, yeah, this is what I need to do. I need to ah change my lifestyle and wake up early and everything magically will get better.

05:59.72
Speaker
And it doesn't. it's I call bullshit on that. ah It's the dumbest thing when I think about it. It's one of the dumbest things ah that has been pushed down people's throats. First of all, because of the fact that people have different rhythms.

06:14.69
Speaker
You know, but let's let's let's go back a sec. The whole thing has no basis in science, all right? So when I i finally started looking into it and i was like, there is no science behind this about 5 a.m.

06:28.59
Speaker
And why 5 a.m.? m why Why not 4 a.m.? m What is the thing about 5? Who chose that number? 5 a.m. means different things to different countries as well. And...

06:40.57
Speaker
So I was like, why not 4 a.m.? Why why not 2 a.m.? a m Why not beat everybody else and be the most productive person in the world? And it just, it baffled me that I, when I was young, it's stupid and I thought this is a great idea, right? and But it's just, it has been pushed down our throats. and ah But there's no signs. I think it's more of a,

07:01.67
Speaker
work ethic thing that comes back from, you know, what what were the Americans? Protestant. um They had this whole concept and that's been pushed down. And I guess in the Middle East, ah because of religion stuff, it might be like they there's a perceived notion that you should wake up super early.

07:18.65
Speaker
I'm not relating this to the prayer that happens around here. But it doesn't – 5 a.m. is not when it necessarily happens anyway. So this whole thing is more of a moral kind of thing of like you're superior in some way.

07:33.69
Speaker
And it because it comes from people who are in – when I was talking about celebrities and stuff – And privileged and wealth matters a lot to how this can be beneficial for you because you can't get everything like you can't have ah if you need to do that.

07:50.99
Speaker
There are a couple of things they don't tell you. Firstly, all right, the first thing you got to get to bed early. You can't be sleep deprived. That doesn't make you more productive. Right. So so obviously um what they don't know when talks about is the fact that you need to sleep earlier.

08:07.82
Speaker
And that is not possible for most human beings. It's not it's not about giving up stuff. And they they have this thing of like you're being lazy and you're Netflix or whatever it is that they make you want to feel guilty about.

08:21.69
Speaker
That's not true. The thing is, it's just life on a regular basis for most people. Work happens. I can't give it to someone else. I come home, most of the time you need chores that need to be done. You've got chores that need to be done. yeah You might have to cook for yourself. You might need to clean up. You might need to prep stuff.

08:40.15
Speaker
You might have a kid like me who decides I'm not gonna sleep till 11 p.m. tonight. you know yeah My son has a regular routine, but every year so often, He does that to me, all right? He decides, we're gonna stay up tonight, Dad, and there's nothing I can do to convince him or make him fall asleep short of like drugging him or something, which I've never done, just for the record, all right? So see you real people have these things and not everyone, I'm lucky enough to,

09:06.57
Speaker
still have a nanny and have some support but not everyone has the extra money to to throw ah things and get these kind of chores done right so then you end up not sleeping properly you start feeling guilty and waking up early and not being it's a vicious cycle ah Bad sleep over time can can really, really affect you um mentally and physically as well, right?

09:32.36
Speaker
If I'm grumpy, I start eating more. It upsets my mood swings. it Obviously, the kind of work we do requires um a level of energy for most of us, I suppose. Even if you're just sitting at a job, don't underestimate how much a good night's sleep will do for you.

09:48.75
Speaker
So i I say we need to take back control And anybody who goes like, yeah, wake up early and da-da-da, I think you need to fight for your sleep time instead. Because because I think that has actually helped me do better when I'm well-rested versus this weird waking up early kind of thing. All right?

10:10.27
Speaker
And it it has all these other things around it that people don't understand. Like I... what Why are people showing off? of I get like okay yeah like a CEO kind of getting up early. and And I'm not, you know, there were some good things about waking up early in general. I'm not talking about 5 a.m.

10:26.19
Speaker
Sometimes I get a little bit of quiet time when I get up, just get my brain function again, have my coffee in peace. ah But... But that, you know, i'm I'm not running a company. So maybe Tim Cook, I get like he I don't know what he he needs to invent the next phone that I will be in such a way that in spite of my best intentions, I'll end up spending money on.

10:49.30
Speaker
ah So he's got to devise all that and he's got maybe he needs to make sure his workers are. you know, on it. So he needs to take out the whip on them. I don't know how Apple works. All right. So what I what i do know is that somewhat that's fine.

11:03.53
Speaker
Why is Michelle Obama getting up at 5 a.m.? Well, she needs to make a sandwich when Obama's president. OK, that's. It's a horrible example. I mean, like, I don't know. Is she running a business? Maybe she is now. I don't know.

11:14.78
Speaker
I don't know. There's no reason to get up at 5 a.m. What is she taking calls around the world for it? i I don't get it. Right. And so this whole thing just messes me around quite a bit.

11:25.73
Speaker
I got out of it at some point. I think the fact that my wife. was not a morning person worked out well for me because if she had been we might have continued like kind of trying to do the whole thing over and over but if you're single and uh you know you you you have money if kind of that demographic then maybe you can do it and good for you right the majority of us have uh other things going on in life particularly family and friends and i think you need to find that balance between being

11:59.72
Speaker
whatever it is and and versus just just having a a life that's meaningful. all right and And it's not just that. um I don't want to give you the impression that ah just because you're not getting up, and this is exactly what I'm trying to fight off is, is just because I'm not getting up at 5 a.m.

12:17.85
Speaker
I'm not ambitious or i'm suddenly lazy and stuff. And that is what they push down your throat. I don't know why. Maybe they're trying to sell products. Maybe they secretly wants you a bit more tired because then you'll spend money on bad stuff, bad food and whatnot, right? And comfort and laziness, anything to offset the deep down stuff you're going through because you're waking up at 5 a.m. m for no reason, all right?

12:44.32
Speaker
And that and that is and that And that's why I'm saying like it's not about productivity. When the the the thing they push down your throat and the thing that um I was too stupid to realize is very simple.

12:57.00
Speaker
It doesn't matter what time you're waking up. It's what you're doing with what time you have that can make a difference between you getting ahead and being more productive and getting stuff done. That's all this really is, man.

13:08.73
Speaker
Anything else besides that is is complete like nonsense about a magical hour or this and that or because like I said, there's been no science behind it.

13:19.56
Speaker
um There's sleep therapists ah who've done research and they talk about What's the word, man? I really, I memorized the word because they thought I thought I'd show off to you guys about my knowledge, but it doesn't matter. The whole point is some people are not built. Their DNA is a chronotype. Yes, chronotype. That's the word.

13:38.54
Speaker
Look it up ah because what it basically is talking about is your DNA for everybody is built different. All right. And when, uh, So some people are morning people, some people are evening people, some people get their best ideas in the afternoon.

13:52.32
Speaker
And most of us, most of us get our best ideas in the shower. All right. ah This isn't just me saying this as a joke. It actually, i think if I remember, there was some research done done around it.

14:05.45
Speaker
Part of it was because that's the moment where you just kind of relax and not overthinking. And so a lot of stuff that has been running into your head kind of connects back together. And so you have some brilliant moments of like realizations.

14:20.83
Speaker
So yeah, you know, this has nothing to with taking a shower at 5 a.m. That's what I am annoyed about. And I'm tired. And I think... ah If you're the younger lot, especially, you got to like but dial up your ability to read bullshit because there's so much onslaught online about ideas and how to be productive and blah, blah, blah.

14:45.18
Speaker
It's easy to be taken. you know, if someone's constantly hearing the same thing to start believing it. and And I'm saying I didn't have that much of internet around me at that time. i still kind of bought into the whole 5 a.m. club because it was pushed down our throats. so So don't do it. you know just Just make sure. Just read out loud.

15:05.19
Speaker
I think being a comic really helps and because i i kind of ah having done ah comedy for so long, I kind of like to look at the bullshit in things and and that helps me to go, yeah, this sounds crap.

15:20.03
Speaker
ah You know, even if it's stuff I've done all my life, go, no, when I really think about it, this is stupid. All right. So that ability is good. and And I say this also because um generally there's so much about uniformity pushed down. our thought We just tend to do it.

15:38.67
Speaker
All right. Human beings tend to do it. I don't think it's always malicious or planned, but we tend to push down uniformity. which is the opposite of what we are.

15:49.39
Speaker
right so Having an autistic kid has really helped me with that. I kind of go there's different ways for different people and how their brain functions. Learning to get my kid to do stuff has made me go, he he doesn't operate he has a different operating system.

16:05.08
Speaker
And I got to figure out what makes him tick and what he's trying to communicate to me. And it opened my eyes. My own diagnosis with ADHD has helped me be a bit more nicer about the fact that there's a whole neurodivergent species that being conscious of that fact that we're all, you know,

16:25.47
Speaker
ah There's there is a lot more neurodivergency than we think. In fact, at some level, I don't know what is neurotypical anyway. I feel like majority of humans are somewhat divergent from each other to some level of, you know, it's an extent of some sort in there. And so so what do you do? you um you start creating and reading these rules that work for one person and they might be the louder ones so they amplify that and it becomes the rule or the belief and and it's not true for you so you really got to question things that is it really working for me

17:03.99
Speaker
And that's one way to kind of figure out, no, no, no, I'm not doing this. ah If you're artist, you know a comedian, ah loads of normal people work better in the evenings. um i Practicality.

17:19.48
Speaker
I'm a comic. I do shows in the evening. I work in the improv theater. i i sometimes teach late at night. I sometimes perform shows there again at night. I get i don't get home till sometimes until midnight.

17:33.38
Speaker
I ain't getting up at 5 a.m. happy. and And no way am I getting up at 5 a.m. and going, ah I'm going to be at the best of my abilities ah to be productive at things.

17:44.31
Speaker
I'll probably like just grudge through the day. I don't even know. Drudge? just Just be a slob through the day going, did this one right thing, but the rest of my day is going to suck because I chose to wake at 5 so So that's the whole thought process I went through. And I and i realized um you got to work, ah you got to figure out what's working for you, what your reality is, what practically is useful, and and stop listening to these online guys pushing down.

18:18.88
Speaker
the same things one person has said that worked and then it will work for you and they all claim I'm the original person saying it and and then it becomes a thing, it becomes a rule of law of nature and success and everything and ah life does not work that way my friend. I'm just too old and have had enough failures in life and made enough mistakes to go that's not how human beings operate and that's not how life works.

18:47.96
Speaker
So find your own way. um Some of those the things that work for me personally, and this is, again, not be lecturing you on how to do it. I've realized sometimes I do. It feels nicer to sleep in.

18:59.13
Speaker
Sometimes I don't want to do anything in the morning. Some days are good to just faff about. i am not, you know, unless if you want to be these billionaires have got you thinking about wanting to live like them.

19:16.00
Speaker
But if you do, you're going end up as a lab rat dying like the lab rats. Yeah, because there's just a whole different lifestyle happening there. Anyway, that was my rant about five the 5 a.m. club. I don't know what your experience has been with it or this whole thing about waking up early and feeling guilty about it. Forget it.

19:34.90
Speaker
You know, ah go to the gym when you have time in the day. Go wake up when you need to. Do find the rhythm of the day where you feel like actually, you know, I'm i'm more product productive. i feel more ah woken up and creative in these moments.

19:50.76
Speaker
Try it. I've heard these things and I never used to pay attention. I was like, oh, this is great ideas. But you really need to sit down and figure ah figure that figure out your own operating system as well. Right.

20:03.27
Speaker
and um And it's not to hack it and become the most productive person in the world. That again is just like this thing being forced down our throats. um Just know what you want and and and get it done in the most humane way, human way possible. It's your experience.

20:19.99
Speaker
It's the experience you're having about life. So, you know, I hope hope this, ah you know, it's just a reminder for myself. So i was hoping ah it it it's a warning for others who fall for stuff.

20:32.73
Speaker
um So I'm going to go back to watching some TV. ah i've I've really enjoyed recording this episode because I felt the need to rant.

20:43.31
Speaker
um Just a little update from my side. I like to talk about the pop culture stuff that I'm doing. I'm watching this show called Tracker. It's season two. I just finished season two, actually, just literally a while, ah just a couple of hours ago.

20:56.72
Speaker
And um and it was it's it's the main lead is the guy from that... ah ah Oh, my God. I'm forgetting the show name. ah They were... the You know the three... The the twins.

21:12.92
Speaker
The three siblings. One is adopted. The other two are twins. um How... I got like got to look this up. Hang on. I got my laptop here. I got to look this show up.

21:24.90
Speaker
Because... um I can't, I've actually made a joke about the video. So the the actor, the main lead is Coulter Shaw. I mean, that's the name of the um the character is Justin Hartley.

21:39.12
Speaker
And he was in, i hang on, let me tell you. what he did before it's a famous show what was the show called it was called it's not showing up it was called uh wait what um the show wait wait is how is it not you know whenever i don't want some stuff like it just shows up and now i'm like looking for something spit ah this is us This Is Us. That was the show.

22:10.66
Speaker
I'm sure you all know or heard about it. It was really good. um but hes So some main it's the good-looking guy who plays the a TV actor in This Is Us.

22:22.79
Speaker
That sibling, he's in Tracker. And the show's not amazing or anything, but I like the fact that it's... um It's easy to watch. It's a mix of action. He's basically the survivalist ah who tracks down lost people.

22:38.72
Speaker
um Kind of unique in its ah a fresh look ah to possibly the same kind of... TV crimes and stuff, but enjoyable.

22:49.66
Speaker
ah Watch it. Two seasons are down. That's what I just finished. And ah and that's my recommendation if um you're looking for something easy to watch in the summer. ah Guys, I got to run back and figure out what I'm going to do next in my life. And since I'm not waking up at 5 a.m. anymore, I hope you enjoyed this episode.

23:07.38
Speaker
I'll catch you in the next one. Enjoy your summer if you're heading off and not listening to podcasts. In the meantime, ah take care. Thank you for watching and listening.