I Finally Cracked the ‘How to Wake Up Early’ Code… If ‘Early’ is 6:00 am

Who cares if I’m not living up to some hustle bro’s pre-dawn expectations?

Tina Crouch
5 min readJan 19, 2022

When I turned 13, I became a camp counselor for my barn’s summer horse riding camps. We all ended every day covered in sweat, dirt, hay, and… everything else. Nobody had any energy left after hours in the heat… So I’d arrive at the barn at 7:00 am to ride for fun.

Fast-forward 10 years, unfortunately, and I joined all the non-morning people on the Sunrise Struggle-Bus.

Without a clue how to get back to my early bird self.

Chronic Migraines, College, Graduation, and a Desk Job Changed Everything

Becoming a Horse Girl™ didn’t change my sleep schedule so much as maintain it until college, even if wintertime wakeups didn’t feel as natural.

The first major blow to my morning routine: developing chronic migraines.

Staying up late in dorms and dealing with then-undiagnosed ADHD compounded other sleep-routine issues.

The final straw that ended my sunrise wakeups: a desk job.

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Tina Crouch

A long-time word nerd & HorseGirl™ who loves reading, writing, and learning languages. I coach Business English & writing skills at TinaTeachesEnglish.com.