The 5AM Club

Free journal and worksheets to help you use the 5 am club method to increase your creativity, energy, focus, happiness, and productivity

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The 5 am club gets you to wake up at 5 am or an hour before your family and use that distraction-free time to focus on three things: exercise (20 minutes), meditation and journaling (20 minutes), and learning or reading (20 minutes). During this time, you fuel your mind, body, and soul. The author claims that the solitude and enhanced brain state that you’ll experience at 5:00 a.m. will increase your performance and help you reach new heights. People who have adopted the method described in the 5 AM club increased their creativity, energy, focus, happiness, and productivity.

Please note: This is an unofficial summary and workbook created to help you understand and apply the principles outlined in the book. For full disclaimer details, click here.

What is the 5am club?

The 5AM club book by Robin Sharma shows what a great impact your morning routine can have on your life. The idea is to use the first hour of your day to drive personal growth and start your day right. This will ultimately help you get the most out of life.

How do you get started? Buy an alarm clock (don’t use your phone if possible) and set it for 5 AM. When it goes off, jump out of bed immediately before you start thinking of reasons to go back to sleep. Follow the 5am club routine described below. You can also use our free custom morning routine maker to customize a morning routine for your specific needs.

The benefits of waking up at 5AM

The isolation that comes from getting up at 5AM has many benefits.

People have limited mental capacity or cognitive bandwidth. During the day, we reach our limits and therefore become less focused. The idea is to start your day at 5 AM and to focus on one high-value activity without your brain getting distracted.

At 5 AM you are more likely to trigger transient hypofrontality. At 5 AM the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which handles rational thought, temporarily shuts down. Therefore, you tend to analyze, stress, and worry about things less than you do later on in the day. At 5 AM, the peace and quiet stimulate the production of the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. The causes you to enter a state of “flow”. You feel energized, focused, and in the zone. You will be less likely to worry and over-analyze.

Therefore, when you get up at 5 AM you will be more focused and productive during the entire day.

How does your 5 am morning routine help you succeed?

Self-discipline and perseverance are more important for success than talent. Therefore, instead of thinking you don’t have what it takes, capitalize on the gifts and talents you have to make a difference. Most people are not prepared to get up at 5AM to help their personal development. Therefore, if you do what 95% of the population is not prepared to do, then you already have an advantage.

In order to be successful, you need to focus on what is important. Gaining a distraction-free hour at 5 AM is one of the most effective things you can do.

Small things done daily are more powerful than big things done once in a while. This is called day-stacking. If you improve one ability or skill by just one percent every day, it amounts to a 365 percent improvement over a one-year period!

Own your morning, elevate your life. Robin Sharma

Balance your mind, health, heart, and soul

The 5am club book explains that we each have four “interior empires.” They are our Mindset, Healthset, Heartset, and Soulset.

• Your “mindset” is driven by your thoughts. Think positive and optimistic thoughts and you will improve your life.
• Your “heartset” is your emotional life and well-being. You cannot perform at your best if your emotional life is a mess. When you don’t express your emotions then they will come forth later in uglier ways. When you focus on a healthy heartset, you will feel much better and you will be able to better communicate with others.
• Your “healthset” is your physical health. According to the author, one of the key ways to get ahead in life is longevity and when you commit to optimal fitness, you get more productive years. Exercise helps you gain energy, reduce stress, and increases your happiness.
• Your “soulset” is your spirituality. Take some time in the quiet moments of the early morning to remember who you truly are. Bond with yourself and mediate to reconnect with yourself.

When you give each of the four interior empires attention, you can master yourself in your chosen field. In order to live a balanced and successful life, you need to focus on your mind, health, heart and soul. The 5 am routine helps you to focus on each of these things.

The 5AM club 20 20 20 formula

The book describes the perfect morning routine to make the hour between 5 and 6 your own and become a true member of the 5 AM club. The first hour of your day is divided into three blocks of time. Each block is 20 minutes long.

According to the 20/20/20 rule, you use 20 minutes to move, 20 minutes to reflect, and 20 minutes to grow. The 20-20-20 formula for productive mornings can transform your creativity, performance, utility, wealth, and productivity.

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First 20 Minutes

Move for 20 minutes – perform vigorous exercise for 20 minutes. It is important that you sweat. Sweat gets rid of cortisol (the hormone of fear and stress) and generates the protein BDNF (which repairs brain cells and accelerates the formation of new neural connections). Therefore, by sweating for 20 minutes, you will think faster!

Next 20 Minutes

Spend 20 minutes on reflection with a period of deep peace and solitude. Reflect on what is most important to you. You will be amazed how 20 minutes of self-reflection enables you to step back and reflect on what truly matters. You will suddenly gain perspective and inspire visions and a deeper understanding of things than you would have had. Write these thoughts in a journal. Write about your ambitions, the things you’re grateful for in your life, your achievements, and your disappointments. This will help you gain clarity, better understand your vision, and let go of toxic negative thoughts and energies. Spend this time on meditation, which helps you stay calm and reduce your stress.

Last 20 Minutes

The last 20 minutes are spent on growing. Use this time to learn. Read biographies to study the lives of great achievers, learn about different topics that interest you, watch documentaries or listen to audiobooks. Use this time for self-development and learning.

If you wake up at 5 am, the 20 20 20 5 am schedule is as follows:

• 5:00-5:20 – exercise
• 5:20-5:40 – reflection (meditation, journaling)
• 5:40-6:00 – reading and/or learning

The importance of sleep

According to the book, research has shown that sleep is one of the key factors in predicting life expectancy. How you spend the hour before you go to sleep is almost as important to peak performance as how you spend your first hour in the morning.

The blue light emitted by your devices reduces levels of melatonin (the chemical that induces sleep). Therefore, turn off all devices by 8 PM at the latest. Otherwise, they will prevent you from sleeping properly. Go to bed no later than 10 PM in order to get enough sleep before 5 AM. Balance is important. It is important to not only work but to embrace rest, relaxation, and fun. This will actually improve your performance.

5am club worksheets

Why don’t you try the 5 am challenge for 30 days? Try the five am club morning routine for 30 days and see how you feel. If the 5am club morning routine described above does not resonate with you, then adapt it to your specific needs. You might prefer to work out for 10 minutes, read for 50 minutes, and meditate for 10 minutes. Do whatever works for you.

The following free 5 am club worksheets will help you follow the routine.

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The 5am Club Summary

“The 5 AM Club” is a book written by Robin Sharma that revolves around the concept of waking up at 5 AM to harness the quiet hours of the morning for personal growth and productivity. Here’s a brief summary:

1. Early Rising: The core idea of the book is to wake up at 5 AM daily, which Sharma terms as the hour of victory, to enhance personal and professional development.
2. 20/20/20 Formula: Sharma introduces a morning routine broken down into three 20-minute segments: the first 20 minutes are for intense exercise to jumpstart the metabolism, the next 20 minutes are for reflection like meditation or journaling, and the final 20 minutes are for learning, to grow knowledge and skills.
3. The 4 Interior Empires: Sharma discusses the importance of cultivating one’s mindset, heartset, healthset, and soulset, which he calls the “4 Interior Empires”. Developing these aspects is said to lead to a revolutionary life, higher productivity, and an elevated humanity.The “4 Interior Empires” concept is a holistic approach aimed at nurturing various aspects of one’s self to attain a balanced and successful life.
   1. Mindset:
      • This refers to the intellectual aspect, focusing on cultivating a positive and growth-oriented mentality.
      • Encourages developing a mindset that embraces challenges, seeks continuous learning, and maintains a solution-oriented approach.
   2. Heartset:
      • This encompasses the emotional aspect, aimed at fostering a healthy emotional state.
      • It’s about processing and healing past emotional wounds, and developing empathy, gratitude, and other positive emotional traits.
   3. Healthset:
      • This empire emphasizes physical health and wellbeing.
      • Encourages regular exercise, a balanced diet, and adequate sleep to maintain a healthy body, which in turn supports a healthy mind and emotional state.
   4. Soulset:
      • This focuses on the spiritual aspect, nurturing one’s inner spirit.
      • Encourages practices like meditation, mindfulness, and connecting with one’s authentic self and values.

   By dedicating time and effort towards nurturing these four empires, people are said to experience a range of benefits including improved productivity, a more meaningful and grounded life, and a heightened sense of humanity. Through a balanced approach, people can align their actions with their values, improve their relationships, and contribute positively to the world around them. The idea is that self-mastery and personal growth in these areas lead to outer mastery and success in the external world.

4. Twin Cycles of Elite Performance: The book mentions the importance of alternating between periods of intense performance and deep recovery to sustain high performance over time. These “Twin Cycles of Elite Performance” stress the importance of a balanced approach between working intensely and recovering adequately to maintain high performance over a prolonged period.
   1. Periods of Intense Performance:
      • These are phases where individuals are expected to give their all towards achieving set objectives.
      • It’s about tapping into one’s full potential, employing a strong work ethic, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible to achieve excellence and make significant progress towards goals.
      • This period promotes focused work, discipline, and leveraging one’s skills and knowledge to the fullest extent.
   2. Periods of Deep Recovery:
      • After intense performance phases, it’s crucial to have periods of deep recovery to rejuvenate and restore one’s energy, both mentally and physically.
      • Recovery periods can include practices like adequate sleep, relaxation, meditation, physical exercise, and engaging in hobbies or activities that rejuvenate the spirit and body.
      • It’s also a time for reflection to assess performance, learn from experiences, and plan for the next phase of intense performance.

   By alternating between these two cycles, people can maintain a high level of performance over time without burning out. It’s a sustainable approach to achieving long-term success and excellence. The emphasis is on the understanding that recovery is not a deviation from the path to success, but a crucial part of it. Through this balanced approach, people can continue to grow, achieve their goals, and maintain a high level of performance in a healthy and balanced manner. This concept aligns with many modern understandings of performance optimization and the necessity of rest and recovery in achieving peak performance.

5. The 5 AM Club’s Mindset: Sharma emphasizes the virtues of diligence, excellence, and continual self-improvement, encouraging readers to live a life of greatness by owning the early hours.
6. The 5 Asset Classes of Genius: The book also introduces the idea of investing time and energy into five key areas: Mental focus, Physical fitness, Emotional beauty, Relationships, and Spiritual growth which Robin Sharma names the “5 Asset Classes of Genius” to emphasize the importance of a balanced approach to personal and professional development. 
   1. Mental Focus:
      • This asset class emphasizes the significance of honing one’s mental faculties.
      • It includes developing the ability to concentrate, think critically, and maintain a growth mindset that embraces continuous learning and problem-solving.
   2. Physical Fitness:
      • Physical fitness is underscored as a crucial component for overall well-being and optimum performance.
      • Regular exercise, a balanced diet, and adequate rest are some of the facets of maintaining physical fitness, which in turn supports mental clarity and emotional stability.
   3. Emotional Beauty:
      • Emotional beauty focuses on cultivating a harmonious and positive emotional state.
      • It encourages individuals to process and manage their emotions healthily, develop resilience, empathy, and maintain a positive outlook, which significantly impacts one’s interpersonal relationships and overall quality of life.
   4. Relationships:
      • This asset class accentuates the importance of fostering meaningful and supportive relationships.
      • Building strong connections with family, friends, and colleagues, and developing good communication and interpersonal skills are crucial for a fulfilling life.
   5. Spiritual Growth:
      • Spiritual growth is about connecting with a higher purpose, exploring one’s inner self, and developing a deeper understanding of life and one’s place in it.
      • Practices like meditation, mindfulness, and self-reflection are encouraged to nurture spiritual growth, which in turn fosters a sense of peace and fulfillment.

   By investing time and energy into these five asset classes, individuals are encouraged to create a well-rounded, fulfilling, and successful life. The holistic approach aims to ensure that individuals are not just succeeding in one area while neglecting others, but are progressing and finding fulfillment in all major aspects of life.

7. The 10 Rituals of Daily Genius: Sharma provides practical tips and rituals to implement the concepts discussed in the book into daily life.

By following these principles, readers are encouraged to lead a more disciplined, fulfilled, and productive life.