Home Business Owner: What to Do If You Aren’t an Early Riser

We hear a lot about how a successful home business owner needs to get up bright and early. But what if you aren't a morning person?

I'm an early riser. No matter how hard I try, I can't sleep past 8 a.m. Sometimes on weekends, after a long week, and after I've stayed up late being social, I can make it until 9 a.m. or 9:30 a.m. These days, I sometimes stay in bed and read if I don't want to get up, but I can't go back to sleep.

However, I still need to get up in the morning. Because no matter how I try to get stuff done in the afternoon, it's a struggle. My peak productivity is early in the morning, and if I do things first that interrupt the flow of work, it just doesn't get done.

But do you have to get up early to be successful? Are you doomed to home business failure if you sleep in? The good news is that you don't have to be.

Tips for Home Business Success While Sleeping In

I'm not going to do as well when I sleep in. It's the unfortunate reality of my situation. I've tried a number of work and productivity experiments, and what works for me is getting up, getting the work done, and then taking care of other things like exercise, eating, and errands.

But that's not how you have to work if that's not your ideal. Here are some tips for being successful, even if you're not up at 5 a.m.

Don't get caught up in the early-rise hype

It's hard to ignore the early riser hype, especially with all the early bird worship going on. But don't get caught up in it. Remember, you're creating the life you want. So don't think you have to be just like someone else for home business success.

You don't need to get up super-early, take a cold shower, and do whatever else it is the hustle bros tell you will change your life. Take a step back and think about when you're most productive and plan around that. Afternoon workers and night owls can also be successful—as long as they work when they're most likely to get more done.

Plan ahead for home business tasks

Many early risers plan their days in the morning after they've risen and meditated and exercised or whatever. You can plan ahead, too. Prioritize your to-do list the night before so that it's waiting for you.

Even though I'm usually out of bed by 8 a.m., I still like to plan in the evening. I review my top tasks, stretch, and relax in the evening so that I have one less thing to do in the morning.

Do what you can to wake up

If you have a hard time with the process of waking up, look for ways to energize yourself first. Even when I feel a bit groggy, I'm still pretty energetic in the morning. I don't exercise vigorously to wake up, although I usually do about 10 minutes of yoga each morning.

Some people find that drinking water when they first wake up is most effective. Others like to get out of bed quickly. Try different strategies to see what helps you wake up and energize so that you feel ready to focus when it's time to work.

Home business work during peak productivity

My curse is that peak productivity for me is before lunch. Even if I force myself to sleep in and do other things first, I can't get anything done in the afternoon. But if your peak productivity is mid-morning, early afternoon, or some other time, that's when you need to get most of your work done. Get the most important home business tasks done during a concentrated period of time during your peak productivity hours.

Set boundaries

I started scheduling interviews and other phone conversations with people in the early afternoon. Rather than chewing up my best writing time with phone calls, I moved them to a time period after lunch. You can do the same thing. I try not to let other things interrupt my peak productivity. Set boundaries for your home business work time so that you aren't using peak productivity hours for mundane things like errands and answering emails.

Bottom line

With a little planning, you can be just as productive as an early riser. Just because you sleep in a little bit (or a lot) doesn't mean that your home business is doomed to failure. I know people who do their best work after three in the afternoon. They sleep in, get up, work out, run errands, and then work. Perhaps they stay up late to relax or socialize. But they still get a lot done.

Work around the reality of what you need in terms of sleep, social interaction, and other things.