Alex Pearmain

...try my Twitter or LinkedIn, as I have too many blogs to write in too many places to be giving this any updates. 

It’s really just a postcard on a url, saying I might be back here one day, but visit me elsewhere in the meantime. 

5am club update... So, how's this been going? Well, first: I was surprised by the response to the original post. People are alternately keen to hear about it because they consider doing something similar themselves, or because they're ardently opposed to it: they see it as an extreme response which reflects either extreme circumstances or extreme decision making, that ought be opposed. So, hopefully this answers many people's questions, even if it probably satisfies no-one. So, my original purpose as outlined here, was about creating more consistency in exercise, and facilitating 'more': more exercise/work/time with my baby son. With that purpose as the framework, I think it's proving successful. I have been able to do the above. Against the original plan, however, I've had mixed results. I haven't got into the everyday habit. I've generally done 3 weekdays of 5am alarm clocks, 3 days at 550-6, and 1 day of lie-in. Why? The reality of (my) life: there's at least one late working night of the week which leaves me with a bedtime after midnight. There's at least one night disrupted for other non-controllable reason (e.g. Baby). At that point 5am becomes challenging. This pattern has been sustainable (I haven't collapsed with flu) and helps the other days feel 'easy', which not many people feel about getting up before 6am. In part that's down to regular non-hardcore exercise. It's tough if I were doing competitive rowing training, for example, but sustainable on solid civilian-level exercise. Top tip - packing everything the night before. You'll want to maximise every last snoozing minute and your organisation isn't great when rushing at 5-something. So, do like your Mum used to tell you at school, and pack it the night before. Right down to whatever your first thing breakfast snack would be. One very reasonable point made by Leo was its easier when the mornings are light. Fair. So, we'll see how I go as the year progresses...

Last week I outlined my experiment: be more effective by getting up at 5am.

So, how did Week One go? Well, i got 1.5 out of 5. I got up at 5am once, and close enough after (but not at 5am) another time. Poor. very poor.

Why? Well, for those who aren’t aware of the minutiae of my life, or those of a marketing start-up founder, it involves some late nights. Those are exacerbated when you live 75 minutes’ commuting out of central London. Late nights aren’t conducive to 5am starts.

But I knew that. I need to be more disciplined about knocking some of them on the head earlier to make the experiment happen. 

I am Dad to a 5 month old baby. 

I am founder of a fast growing business (www.onefiftyconsultancy.com)

I am a husband. 

I am a gardener and an occasional athlete.

These things all require time. Some of them very considerable amounts.

Now I’m pretty effective at prioritising and scheduling. But the layout of the typical, conventionally arranged day doesn’t work so well for me.

I’m best getting my exercise done first thing, when I’m busy (which I always am). My baby tends to be awake 0700-1930. My wife needs time not with the baby to do stuff like go to the gym. Not all of the team at work are at their most productive during conventional office hours. I like to be outside at some point during the day whilst it is light. Half my work requires dedicated attention for extended periods. The other half is full of small tasks requiring interaction with others.

In short, I think I can use the same amount of waking hours better, by shifting when I do stuff, to be more effective. 

So, that’s what I’m doing. Starting Monday, I’m setting the alarm for 5am. That means I can knock through some of the work tasks I am best suited to doing alone, first thing, followed by some exercise, before commuting into the office to arrive at the same time as most of the team (9-930). Then leaving mid/late afternoon, to be home to spend the last 90 mins or so of my baby’s waking day with him, before continuing work. 

Some fun stuff I/we’ve written lately:

- OneFifty consultancy

- ‘Influencer’ is a much-abused term.