My best productivity hack has nothing to do with fancy apps, advanced systems, or color-coded to-do lists.
It is much simpler than that.
I get up at 5 a.m.
Not every day. Not fanatically. And not at any cost.
Early Morning Quiet
The time between 5:00 and 6:30, before the rest of the family wakes up, is something special. There are no emails. No notifications. No customers or employees. No kids. No meetings. No one who needs anything from me. The world is asleep, and for once, I am ahead.
And that is exactly the point.
Instead of starting the day with the familiar feeling of already being behind before it has even begun, I start the day with a clear sense of being ahead.
How I Use The Time
I do not necessarily use the first hour for deep focus or big strategic tasks, as many people recommend. That can come later. Most mornings, I use the time to knock out a few simple tasks and low-hanging fruit from my to-do list. It is a perfect way to start the day.
Sometimes it is also the annoying tasks, the ones that would otherwise sit in the back of my mind all day.
This follows the principle of "eat that frog", a concept popularized by Brian Tracy. The idea is simple: start your day with the most unpleasant, uncomfortable, or resisted task. If you know you have to do it anyway, do it first. Once the frog is gone, the rest of the day feels mentally lighter because the worst thing is no longer hanging over you.
Other mornings look different. Sometimes I start with a few simple tasks, then go for a run or do some strength training, and I am ready to wake up the family at 6:30. Other times, there is room for more uninterrupted work before the day really gets going.
Psychological Advantage
By 6:30, I have already accomplished something. That creates calm, mental surplus, and a sense of control that stays with me throughout the day. A feeling of being ahead instead of reactive. A bit like the idea of making your bed first thing in the morning. A small action that sends a signal to your brain: the day has started, and you have already completed one task.
That said, making the bed does not work particularly well at our home, since my wife is still sleeping when I get up 😉
There is even a book about this whole idea: "The 5 AM Club – Own Your Mornings" by Robin Sharma
Early Nights
Of course, there is a price that comes with this habit: giving up late nights.
Before we had kids, I was a night owl. I worked late, did my best thinking in the evenings, and had no problem staying up very late, often well past midnight. That worked fine back then. It obviously does not anymore as a parent.
Those late-night work sessions were part of my early entrepreneurial journey. I reflect on this more in 25 Years at Arnsbo Group.
Final Thoughts
Today, I prioritize my sleep very highly. So my "5 a.m. productivity hack" simply does not happen if I am not in bed and ready to sleep by 10 p.m. And that can be surprisingly difficult if you are not disciplined about your shutdown routine. That is also why it only works a couple of times a week for me. It must never come at the expense of my sleep, because then it just shows up as a problem somewhere else.
But when it does work, the feeling of already being ahead for the rest of the day is fantastic. It is indeed a concept I can recommend.