The Early Riser Myth and High Functioning Anxiety: Why it May Not Work for You?

"Picture this. You set your alarm for, you know four or five in the morning. You’re determined to start your day like a boss, as they say. But you see the alarm and you’re like, oh. The first thing you think of is forget it! I’m going to just hit snooze. 

And then you maybe do that two or three more times, drag yourself out of bed. You feel groggy and frustrated. But what if instead of feeling empowered, you already feel behind and the day hasn’t even started yet.” ~Dr. Lisa Hartwell

Aloha and welcome!

How do societal expectations about productivity and success impact your mental health and well-being? How flexible are you with your daily routine, and are you open to experimenting with different wake-up times to see their impact?

In this episode of Anxiety Ease, I dive into the pressures we place on ourselves to fit into the early-riser mold and how it often triggers high-functioning anxiety. 

Spoiler alert: You don’t have to wake up at 5 AM to be successful!

I’m going to share 4 tips for finding your routine and personal productivity rhythm. High functioning anxiety doesn’t have to be a constant companion. By working with your natural strengths, you can reduce anxiety and enhance your well-being.

Feeling behind before your day even starts? Stop forcing yourself into routines that don’t fit. Embrace when you’re most productive and live with ease.

Mahalo for listening!
Dr. Lisa Hartwell

Transcript

Picture this. You set your alarm for, you know four or five in the morning. You’re determined to start your day like a boss, as they say. But you see the alarm and you’re like, oh. 

The first thing you think of is forget it. I’m going to just hit snooze. And then you maybe do that two or three more times, drag yourself out of bed. You feel groggy and frustrated. But what if instead of feeling empowered, you already feel behind and the day hasn’t even started yet.


Aloha, and welcome. You're listening to the Anxiety Ease
podcast and I'm your host, Dr. Lisa Hartwell. I'm a Hawaii
licensed clinical psychologist, anxiety coach, and retreat
facilitator. In this podcast season, I'm going to be sharing mine and other human stories, lessons for my fellow brain nerds who.


Love science like I do and our.


Own life's journey to live life with more ease.


Aloha.


Hello, my high functioning, highly ambitious


professionals. I know what it's like. You are probably not


sleeping and your brain is on overdrive the minute your head hits the pillow at


night. I get it. And I also know how to fix it.


I got three steps for you. There's three steps that I use with every single


client to get you back to sleep so we can address that high functioning anxiety


at a later time. We got to get you sleeping first. So jump into


the show notes, grab the link, get your three step mini guide


that includes a very, very easy step by


step process to walk you through how to get back to sleep,


a nice little quiet meditation to help you go to sleep.


And then I have a easy, easy process of doing some bullet


journaling to help you understand why you're probably not


sleeping. Go ahead and grab that in the show notes with the


link. It'll cost you less than a cup of


coffee or whatever you drink to keep you awake during the day.


Hey, maybe we'll just switch that out for some lemon water. How does that sound?


All right, you take care and happy sleeping.


Aloha, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Anxiety


ease. And today we're going to dive into.


A topic that hits close to home.


For many of us ambitious professionals and business owners.


And we're talking about that myth of.


The early riser and how to fit it in. How to fit


this into a mold really


sometimes triggers high functioning anxiety.


And this sparked


an idea for me to talk about this when I was actually


getting up very early this morning. I went to bed early last night.


So I slept really well.


But for some reason I woke up.


And I was still tired.


But I realized I shouldn't be tired because I slept really


well, got plenty of hours of sleep. But it's


so funny because I am not an early riser.


I never have been.


I have always been a groggy person in the morning. I do


my best in the late afternoon


evenings.


And sometimes I can stay up till.


Midnight or so to work on my stuff if I'm going to do that, or,


or stay out and have fun and all of that, but I just.


Have never been an early riser.


I don't know, but. And so I struggled when I was a flight nurse


and had to get up in the middle of the night sometimes to go do flights and,


you.


Know, doing night shift.


And it's always been just how I was, how


I made. And so when, you


know, there's things.


Out there that talk about get up.


In the morning, get up before everybody else is up, get up before the


birds even start chirping. Did you know the birds don't start chirping


until the sun comes up?


I noticed that when I get up.


Sometimes in the early. And I was wondering if you've ever.


Felt like you had the need to.


Wake up at the crack of dawn.


Just to be successful.


And I know you've read about these.


Books that high flying CEO's who rise.


Up at five in the morning, they do a meditation, they


exercise, they have maybe their cup of coffee first thing


in the morning, and then they start their day. And I always think it sounds so


amazing. And one of the reasons I was thinking about this


was I got up quite a bit early this morning so I could come in and,


you know, record. I usually batch my podcasts, but.


And have ideas for what I'm going to talk about when


I'm batching multiple episodes. But today I thought, oh, I'm going to do this one,


because I was driving in thinking, this isn't


me. I so am nothing of the


mindset.


Or of the identity to be an early riser.


It's just not who I am. And yet sometimes,


because it's functional to.


Do that, whether maybe you have to.


Get up for a flight or an event or something, but if


it doesn't fit into your identity or your


brain, on how your brain is wired, it's like it takes


extra effort.


But on the flip side, what I.


Did notice is there was zero traffic at 530


this morning. It was fabulous. We have so much traffic in


Honolulu when school's in season anyway.


And it is just so stressful. And I thought, oh, wait


a second, maybe this is why people get up early just to, you know, you get


to your office and five or ten minutes or compared


to a half an hour and you're not looking


to your left, looking to your right, always, you know, when you're on high


alert, when you're driving, right. And traumatic. And I thought, oh, that's


interesting. And then also the second thing that I noticed was how


quiet it is. And that's why I was laughing about.


The birds, because there's just no sounds at five in the morning.


Nothing is awake yet. At least here, at least


in close to where we live.


And the thing is, it's not everyone.


And this is all about identity. But not everyone is also wired


in.


Your brain to be an early bird. And it's really okay.


Many, many of us force ourselves into.


This early riser box thinking it's the secret sauce to productivity


and success, especially.


When you have a business or, you know, you're trying to be


this high, ambitious professional. But


the kicker is, I was thinking about that.


Trying to be something that you're not.


Can actually trigger your high functioning anxiety.


And, you know, you picture this, you set your alarm for, you know, four.


Or five in the morning.


You're determined to start your day like a, like a boss, as they


say. But you hit the, you see the alarm and you're like,


oh, first thing.


You think of is forget it, I'm going to just hit snooze.


And then you maybe do that two or three more times, drag yourself out of


bed.


You feel groggy and frustrated. But what if instead of


feeling empowered, you already feel behind and


the day.


Hasn'T even started yet and it's really


common, right?


It's a classic setup for high functioning.


Anxiety, all about expectations.


You're pushing yourself to meet an unrealistic standard for


yourself.


Now, when you fall short, the self doubt and


worry basically creep in. It's like trying


to fit a square.


Peg into a round hole.


It's just not going to work.


And it's exhausting to try to be.


Something that you're not. And, you know, don't get me


wrong.


There'S nothing inherently wrong with waking up. I have lots of friends. My husband's


actually an early riser. Even when we're on vacation, he's the.


One that's up out getting drinks for folks and, you know,


he's Mister Donut guy. He'll go out and get donuts and bring it back to the hotel


room, and I, you know, me and my son are still sleeping in, so that's


always been our vacations. But there's nothing


wrong with that if.


It'S your natural rhythm.


But if you're a night owl and you're trying to force yourself into


early bird habits, you're really fighting against your


body's natural inclinations that


resistance can cause.


A lot of unnecessary stress.


And I always have tried this.


I try to adopt an early riser routine. I have some friends as well that.


Like to get up and walk and.


Do their exercise in the morning.


I am a terrible exerciser in the morning. Everything


hurts. I feel like I don't breathe as well.


But I can nail my walks.


I can walk forever and just enjoy the way


my body feels in the afternoon or the evening.


Especially in the evening when it's cool and


trying to get up in the morning.


I thought it would make me more productive.


It's almost like it would give me more time.


But then I just find I'm so tired.


Like there's this switch.


I've never been able to do it.


Long enough to figure out how to switch that


biorhythm. And so it just made me tired and anxious. And I


always felt like I would.


Go to bed not being as productive.


And finishing things that I set out to do. And,


you know, I just found that it's.


My mornings were filled with dread instead.


Of motivation every time I tried to do this. So


once I embraced, you know, my.


Most productive hours are actually in the.


Late morning or late afternoon, rather in evening.


My anxiety levels just accepted that. It just dropped


and my productivity soars. I batch


everything that I do.


I have chunks of time where my brain is on fire.


It really can produce and do,


you know, content related things or if I need to do research


for work and.


Write up things, that's when my brain works.


And sometimes you just have to go with that. You


have to accept the identity and what your mind and body


is telling you. It's screaming to you,


possibly listen to.


Your body and mind pay attention when.


You start to feel most alert and energized and


structure your day around that.


It's not about fitting into someone else's routine. It's


about creating a routine that works.


For you and especially for those in business.


You went into business to create a.


Life and freedom for yourself, and that's why you should


be continuing to work, do what works for you,


not what somebody else proponent is about


a, you know, this, this situation,


this environment, this timeframe


you need to do this because this is how I became successful.


Figuring out a routine that works for you is key.


And you always want to think of.


It a little bit like gardening, or obviously in my case as an orchard.


You wouldn't plant a cactus in a.


Rainforest or a fern in the desert. Each


plant thrives in its own environment. In my


particular metaphor that I use.


All the time with apple orchards.


Apple orchards are not all over the country. They


thrive in particular environments that


are temperate, right? That allows for the


seasonal abundance of fruit to


happen during the spring and the summers, and then for the orchard.


To go dormant in the winter.


So the roots can actually grow and.


The new branches can grow throughout the next season.


So similarly, you need to cultivate a.


Daily routine that nurtures your unique strengths and


rhythms. So I want to just offer


you.


A few tips to help you find your groove, whatever that is for you.


If you happen to be struggling with.


This and you're finding you're trying to fit a mold into


something that doesn't feel like it's you. So the first one is


just. Just try and experiment.


Try to, try to wake up at.


Different times and see how they affect your energy levels and


mood. And you know me, I like my bullet journaling.


So keep a bullet journal to track your observations.


Bullet journaling is just making quick little notes


somewhere, whether it be in your.


Phone, in your day timer.


You can even put it on a post it. You can put it on a piece.


Of paper on your refrigerator.


But just track your observations.


We want to always base our behavior.


In data, that is, in real time, so we can know where we


need.


To make some shifts.


The second one is a flexible schedule.


So just allow some flexibility in your day.


If you're not a morning person, don't.


Schedule your most demanding tasks first thing in the morning. So maybe you


have to get up.


And take your kids to school and you're still kind of groggy or not. But


don't schedule your thinking time if those are demanding


tasks for you first.


Thing in the morning. I would schedule those later in the day when your brain is on


fire.


Like I kind of mentioned. And then the third one I was.


Thinking about was self compassion, which is, let's be kind to


ourselves.


It's okay if you don't fit into the early riser mold.


Your worth and success are not determined.


By the time that you wake up.


You are not failing if you are.


Not fitting into someone else's mold. And then


finally, I was thinking about.


A personalized routine, which is really creating a routine that aligns with your own


natural rhythms. So maybe you actually ebb and flow


throughout the day.


So maybe you're not groggy in the morning like me, and then


your brain is on fire later. Maybe that happens a few times during.


The day, which sometimes it does for me too. And there are times


in the afternoon.


I have that sort of typical three.


Maybe two to three time where I have my brain gets a little bit.


Tired, and then what I do is I just shut my eyes for


five to 15 minutes at the most. Maybe I'll do a meditation,


but it's really about escaping for a moment and.


Just taking a breath. Maybe I'll go for a walk.


You know, I have Mister Teddy, so I'll take him for a walk sometimes


and. And just reset. It's just a


matter.


But it's about listening again to your.


Mind and your body and responding and giving it what it


needs so you can move on to the next steps


and whatever your day brings.


So whether it's late night brainstorming sessions.


Or afternoon power hours, you just need to find what works for you.


And this is always to remember that the goal is to live a calm,


joyful, and productive life.


High functioning anxiety doesn't have to be.


A constant companion, but by embracing who.


You are and working with your natural.


Strengths, you can reduce all of your.


Anxiety and enhance your well being. So I hope you found


this episode helpful. And if you have any comments or.

www.drlisahartwell.com
We really would appreciate a review, just go to


iTunes and I will see.


You on the next episode. Aloha.


Okay, that's a wrap for this week. The Anxiety Ease podcast is


produced by myself and the music is provided by


Pigsabay. For more episodes or to get in touch anytime, you can


visit my website, drlisahartwell.com. and if you do like


the show, please leave us a review on iTunes. It really helps us out


a lot.


Also, if you want to see where.


You fall in the continuum of your.


High functioning anxiety, head on over to.


The link that's found in the show notes


hartwellanxietyassessment.com.