Early Morning Challenge: Transforming Habits with a Friend

Midnight, July 10, 2024.

Edjay and I initiated a 5-month challenge: waking up every day between 5-6 AM 🌄 to cultivate the habit of rising early. 🌞 Waking up early is often touted as a key ingredient for success. 🤩 However, our goal isn't just to follow this advice for success 💫 but to develop self-discipline 😎 and feel refreshed waking up early, 🤗 rather than feeling sluggish waking up late. 🥱

Here's how the challenge works:

We'll continue to trial this challenge until the end of July, and then throughout August, September, October, November, and December. The penalty for each day missed increases progressively: ₱10, ₱20, ₱30, ₱40, ₱50 respectively.

Edjay agreed, and so did I.

Hopefully, we'll master this routine and turn it into a habit.

This challenge will motivate us to make the most of our mornings and prioritize an early bedtime.

Wish us luck!

This Study shows why waking up early leads to optimal performance.

Update 2024-07-11: On the first day, we successfully executed the challenge. After I woke up, I took a selfie, biked for more than 30 minutes back and forth from home, oiled my hair with my homemade coconut oil, took a shower, and almost forgot to send the selfie! Haha

Update 2024-07-12: Today we slept around near 2AM working on our Pitch Deck for Manila Hackathon in Ateneo, it was the opposite of yesterday. Failed, woke up almost 10 PM. Gotta need to do it again today.

Update 2024-07-13: I'm back on track.

Update 2024-07-18: Edjay failed to send for two days.

Update 2024-07-23: Today I woke up almost at 5 AM, earlier than the alarm clock. I tend to become forgetful of sending the photos once I start sitting in front of the computer, but getting up at 5 is still a little bit weird for me because I have this thought that I have nothing to do early in the morning. But thinking right now, I could do what I might do later tonight tomorrow morning.

It's just that I need to maintain the time at 9, stop using the computer, read books until 10, and sleep. Wake up, take a photo, do push-ups as long as possible, oil my hair, take a shower, and do the work.

Also, I forget sending photos to Messenger as I try to avoid my phone, but I'll figure this thing out along the way.

Update 2024-07-30: I have made a contract for the stricter implementation of the challenge starting tomorrow, including a daily tracker to record any missed days. I'm ready, with a bit of discipline, to wake up at 5 AM. It's time to test our persistence over the next five months. This challenge will either help us build a good habit or just become another task.

Update 2024-07-31: Today, a new challenger joined the group. Shan, our class president and an obvious early bird among us, was interested and signed the commitment contract. This will be fun and exciting. See you at the end of 2024!

Update 2024-08-01: First day! Everyone woke up early and shared proof in our group chat. Yesterday, before I went to sleep, I created a calendar tracker. You can click the button above to access it.

Update 2024-08-06: Shan failed to send and take his selfie on time for two straight days. He initially found the task boring, but now his consistency is being challenged.

Update 2024-08-15: Edjay got sick for two days and is exempted. Now he is back.

Update 2024-08-20: Edjay and me exempted because we are one of the representative of the school for the AI hackathon, i told shan that we will pause the challenge at the meanttime but he insisted telling me he will keep doing it.

Update 2024-08-27: back to challenge for everyone for because all of us sent pictures again

Update 2024-08-31: Today marks the end of the first month of our challenge and the Monthly Penalty Counter.

Edjay - Php 50, Elly - Php 10, Shan - Php 40

Income is on its way...

Update 2024-09-05: Edjay payed me 50 pesos.

Update 2024-09-20: Shan payed me 40 pesos.

Update 2024-10-01: IT'S A TIE

Update 2024-10-13: Shan payed us all 15 pesos each

Update 2024-10-19: Shan failed this month!

Update 2024-11-17: I ruined my routine by sleeping in the afternoon and then sleep late at 1am!

Update 2024-11-24: I officially ruined myself for this fucking pep project. But fuck im happy with my work haha. That the zone of coding from 4pm to 1am.

Update 2024-12-02: I payed Shan 120 pesos and Edjay 40 pesos. A massive earnings for Shan!

Update 2025-01-25: I forgot to update, but we ended the challenge with Shan earning 250 from Edjay and me—so Shan got back what he paid last month. We officially wrapped up the challenge for the year, which ended in chaos because December turned out so differently than I had expected. Honestly, I completely ruined my life, and it's been getting worse up to today.

That said, the challenge was fun, but it wasn't sustainable given our current situation. Shan decided to move forward with this year's challenge under extreme rules, including strict eating limitations, drinking 2 liters of water daily, studying for 2 hours, and other commitments.

As for me, I'm leaning toward a long-term plan: becoming rich and saving a million pesos by 2030. My reason is simple—I want to focus on a bigger picture, not just a challenge that's relevant for a single year. I hope this new approach will bring better outcomes and help me work toward something truly great!