Get to Work 15 Minutes Earlier

Holy cow! It’’s Thursday, and you’’re still with me! You are now in the top 90 percentile. Nine out of 10 promise makers have dropped out and you’’re still standing. I see a very bright year ahead for you! Today, we are going to make your job easy. I want you to figure out, on the average, what time you have been getting to work each day. And I want you to promise yourself that you’’ll get there at least 15 minutes earlier from now on.

Don’’t fool yourself. If you’’ve been trying to get to work by 8:00 but get there at that time only two days a week, admit that your starting time is 8:15 or 8:30. Then fix your new objective. Fifteen minutes a day multiplied by 50 weeks is 62.5 hours of extra work. That gives you more than a full week’’s advantage over those you are competing against.

You can accomplish a lot in a week – remember, I got my screenplay written in half that time – so don’’t underestimate what this will do for you. It’’s not just about doing extra stuff. It’’s about getting a jump on things. Getting in early makes you better prepared, more thoughtful, better organized, and more effective in every area of your life. Early to bed, early to rise. It will make you healthier this year . . . and wealthier and wiser too.

[Ed. Note.  Mark Morgan Ford was the creator of Early To Rise. In 2011, Mark retired from ETR and now writes the Palm Beach Letter. His advice, in our opinion, continues to get better and better with every essay, particularly in the controversial ones we have shared today. We encourage you to read everything you can that has been written by Mark.]