I have been trying for years to be open to rising before the sun, but the fact is my internal  says “sunlight=get up” and also tells me that after 11:00 pm, reading is utterly uninterrupted by my family, which has led me to staying awake until well after midnight for all of my adult life. This, of course, is not conducive to the pre-dawn alarm, unless you’re my mother.

But this article in Monster.com’s Excelle blog (yes, it’s for women, but the principles here are the same for either sex) makes a strong argument for getting up early, getting things done, and why your body is more responsive, energetic and even smarter in the early morning hours. The thing that struck me, aside from the obvious benefits like more time to put on a little slap, have a real breakfast, a higher motivation to get to the gym, was the idea that if I get up early, the commute is easier, I have time to watch more than one segment of the morning shows, and I’m already a few hours into my day by the time I get to my desk — rather than, say, arriving in search of coffee, a sugar jolt, and eyes that are not staying open without concentrated effort.

I know an advertising executive who is at the gym by 4:00 am, calling his employees and planning his day, who phones every single one of his clients every day, runs the 14th-largest ad agency in the U.S., yet still has time to be the hands-on father of four. I don’t aspire to these extremes, but getting up an hour earlier would sure make my day a bit easier. How about you?